San Francisco Opera presents Guiseppe Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra for the first time since 2008.
Led by Music Director Eun Sun Kim, the production stars Amartuvshin Enkhbat in the title role, Eleonora Buratto as Amelia/Maria, with whom Boccanegra has fallen in love, (Toni Marie Palmertree takes over the role on September 27) and Christian Van Hoorn as Jacopo Flesco, Maria’s father. Also in the cast are Joshua Guerrero making his Company debut in the role of Gabriele Adorno, Aleksey Bogdanov as Paolo Albiani and Gabriel Natal-Báez as Pietro.
The revival is directed by Katherine M Carter.
Verdi wrote his two-act opera with a prologue to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave which was revised by Arrigo Boito, and based on the 1843 play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Simon Boccanegra the opera was first performed at Teatro La Fenice in Venice on March 12th, 1857, but the complications of the original plot and the generally poor popular response – even though the critical one was more encouraging – that the opera dropped out of favor after 1866.
It’s a tale of political intrigue, love and betrayal, set in Genoa, against a background of political conflict, at a time when the city was ruled by opposing groups of patricians and plebeians. Simon Boccanegra is a famous seafarer who has led successful raids on Genoa’s enemies. He falls in love with Maria, Jacopo Fiesco’s daughter, and they have a child. Fiesco, a long-time enemy of Boccanegra who is of lower rank, forbids Maria to marry him, and has her imprisoned in his palace. The baby is being raised by a nurse outside the city. Boccanegra is declared leader of a politically divided Genoa shortly after losing both his beloved and his daughter, Amelia.
Paolo, a plebeian, plans to exploit Boccanegra’s love for Maria to gain power for himself. Amelia, now a grown woman, has fallen in love with Adorno and tells him that she is Boccanegra’s daughter. Boccanegra agrees to pardon Adorno who has been jailed, but Boccanegra has already drunk from the carafe of poisoned water which Paolo has set for him. Paolo confesses all to Fiesco, Amelia marries Adorno, and Boccanegra dies, in the knowledge that the old enemies are reconciled,
Mongolian baritone Amartusvhin Enkhbat has appeared on the stages of some of the world’s leading opera houses, including Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Bavarian and Berlin State Operas, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and the Arena di Verona. His engagements for San Francisco Opera include the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Renato in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera and Opera in the Park. Upcoming highlights include Miller in Verdi’s Luisa Miller for the Vienna State Opera, the title role in Verdi’s Nabucco for State Opera Berlin and Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca for the Vienna State Opera.
Eleanora Burrato is described by Il Foglio as “the most precious and complete soprano that the Italian school has produced in recent years”. She has a repertoire that ranges from belcanto to Puccini, including roles such as Liù in Puccini’s Turandot, Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème, the title role in Verdi’s Luisa Miller, Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, Antonia in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Elisabetta in Verdi’s Don Carlo, and the title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda. Future appearances include the soprano in Verdi’s Messa Da Requiem at Teatro Regional di Parma, Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello at Teatra alla Scala in Milan and the title role in Puccini’s Tosca at the Staatsoper under Linden in Berlin and at the Metropolitan Opera.
Toni Marie Palmertree’s San Francisco Opera highlights include the title role in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly‘ Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Princess Liù in Puccini’s Turandot, and she is a graduate of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship Program of 2016-2017, and of the Merola Opera Program in 2015. Roles which she has sung include the title role in Verdi’s Luisa Miller for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Maddalena in Giorano’s Andrea Chénier at Opera Delaware, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Seattle Symphony and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Arizona Opera.
San Francisco Opera Highlights for Christian Van Horn include roles as Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Lindorf/Dr Miracle/Dapertutto in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Timur in Puccini’s Turandot, Colline in Puccini’s La bohème, Oroveso in Bellini’s Norma, Narbal in Berlioz’s Les Troyens, Claggart in Britten’s Billy Budd and in San Francisco Opera’s 100th Anniversary Concert. He has also sung roles such as Escamillo in Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Philip II in Verdi’s Don Carlo at Dallas Opera, the title role in Bluebeard’s Castle at Canadian Opera Company, Timur in Puccini’s Turandot at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera and Philippe II in Verdi’s Don Carlos at Paris Opera.
The opera is sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Eun Sun Kim leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera Chorus (director John Keene) in six performances of Simon Boccanegra at the War Memorial Opera House between September 12 – 27. For further information and details of bookings visit the San Francisco Opera website.
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