Set in 14th-century Genoa, Simon Boccanegra is a gripping story of political intrigue and personal tragedy.
With music full of dark-hued grandeur and excitement, Opera North’s first ever performances of Simon Boccanegra follow our acclaimed concert stagings of large-scale Italian classics such as Turandot and Aida. It promises to be an unmissable event.
At its core is a decades-long feud between political rivals: Simon Boccanegra, former pirate and man of the people, and Jacopo Fiesco, a leading member of the nobility. But these enemies are bound together by the strongest of family ties: one is the father and the other the grandfather of the same woman, Amelia.
Premiered in 1857, Verdi revised the opera in 1881 with the librettist Arrigo Boito, with whom he later collaborated on his final masterpieces, Otello and Falstaff. Together they crafted a Shakespearean drama of love, loss and reconciliation which, in its celebrated Council Chamber scene, contains Verdi’s most impassioned plea for peace and unity.
Running time
Approximately 2 hours 30 minutes
Language
Sung in Italian with English subtitles
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Gateshead
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London
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Cast & creative
![Roland Wood 300 x 300 A man with short hair and a beard.](https://d2c6kjafra7luc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Roland-Wood-300-x-300.jpg)
Roland Wood
Simon Boccanegra
Roland Wood
![Vazgen Gazaryan 300 x 300 A man with a goatee.](https://d2c6kjafra7luc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Vazgen-Gazaryan-300-x-300.jpg)
Vazgen Gazaryan
Jacopo Fiesco
Vazgen Gazaryan
![Sara Cortolezzis 300 x 300 A woman with wavy hair and earrings.](https://d2c6kjafra7luc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Sara-Cortolezzis-300-x-300.jpg)
Sara Cortolezzis
Amelia
Sara Cortolezzis
![andrés presno A man in a hoodie looking up while leaning against a wall.](https://d2c6kjafra7luc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/andres-presno.png)
Andrés Presno
Gabriele Adorno
Andrés Presno
![Mandla Mndebele 300 x 300 A bald man with a large beard.](https://d2c6kjafra7luc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Mandla-Mndebele-300-x-300.jpg)
Mandla Mndebele
Paolo Albiani
Mandla Mndebele
![Antony-Hermus-400x400px](https://d2c6kjafra7luc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Antony-Hermus-400x400px.jpg)
Antony Hermus
Conductor
Antony Hermus
![PJ-Harris](https://d2c6kjafra7luc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PJ-Harris.png)
PJ Harris
Stage Director