Starring Ludovic Tézier, Mika Kares.
Directed by Calixto Bieito.
Classification: CTC, 170 mins.
Country: France.
Language: Italian (subtitled).

New Production! The ambiguities of Verdi’s theatre are particularly clear in his baritone roles, among which is that of Boccanegra (here the talented French baritone Ludovic Tézier), corsair turned doge of Genoa and the troubled observer of the conflicts that tore apart 14th century landowners and peasants. An eminently political opera in which power struggles are interwoven with family conflicts, Simon Boccanegra echoes the life of its composer – the man who championed the cause of Italian unification and overcame the loss of his wife and children. Calixto Bieito, that most Shakespearean of opera directors, brings humanism and truth to a work haunted by gleaming images of the sea.

Captured live from Opéra Bastille, Paris, 13 Dec 2018.
Director: Calixto Bieito.
Conductor: Fabio Luisi.
Cast: Ludovic Tézier, Mika Kares.
Duration: approx. 2h50, incl. interval.
Sung in Italian, with English subtitles.