3 immortal pieces from the opera SIMON BOCCANEGRA by Verdi – with the best interpretations from YouTube (Hits, Best of)

With the leading role of Simon Boccanegra, Verdi has written a grandiose portrait of the role. The somewhat convoluted plot gave the composer room for great scenes. Like Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra is undoubtedly a masterpiece, but has nevertheless remained an opera for the connoisseur.

The moving, bleak “il lacerato spirito” of Fiesco

Fiesco steps out of the palace with a somber expression. His daughter has just died within the walls of the palace. He reproaches himself for not being able to protect her and curses her seducer Boccanegra.
This somber and moving aria by Fiesco is accompanied by miserere interjections from a male chorus and lamentations from the female chorus. The orchestral accompaniment is restrained in orchestration, creating a moving effect. The aria of the noble and proud Fiesco shows him at his most vulnerable. Painful despair, blasphemous exclamations in forte and a prayer to his daughter require the bass to show with his voice a wide range of emotions and accordingly a wide range of colors. The piece must never degenerate into a superficial demonstration of vocal power.
After the aria fades away, the square fills with people, which Verdi cleverly used to end the aria with a long epilogue, dramatically intensifying the desolation of the moment.
We hear the scene in the TV production of the Abbado/Strehler staging at La Scala.

A te l’estremo … Il lacerato spirito – Ghiaurov

Amelia’s grand entrance

Verdi wrote a beautiful, thoughtful aria accompanied by flute singing for Amelia’s first appearance.
Mirella Freni, the Amelia of the Abbado recording shone in this role. Her luminous, sensual soprano, which pours like “golden rain over the audience,” is perfectly suited to this role, which, unlike many other Verdi heroines, is not in the dramatic spinto realm, but demands a lyric soprano.

Come in quest’ora bruna – Freni

The great council hall scene

In the council chamber of Genoa. The council discusses policy toward its rival from Venice. Simon proposes a league with the Venetians, he does not want a fratricidal struggle. But Paolo and the plebeians want war. The Doge addresses the rival parties with a great speech to preserve unity.
Verdi wanted to expand this scene with the 1881 revision and inserted at this point a so-called “pezzo concertato,” an ensemble of chorus and soloists. He leads it through the great monologue “Plebe! Patrizi! Popolo!” by Boccanegra.

Plebe! Patrizi! Popolo – Cappuccilli