In the spring of 1856, the management of Venice's Teatro La Fenice commissioned Verdi to write a new opera. They soon soon settled on a subject: Spanish dramatist Antonio García Gutiérrez's play Simón Bocanegra. The next year's premiere enjoyed only lacklustre success, but later on, in 1879, the composer returned to the work, making major changes to it with the assistance of librettist Arrigo Boito. Two years later, at Milan's La Scala, the opera received tremendous acclaim, which has been repeated around the world ever since. This dramatic story of passion, treachery, love, kidnapping, poisoning and death combined with Verdi's marvellous music has made Simon Boccanegra into one of the most important pieces in the composer's oeuvre.
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