Verdi
Gran Fantasia sur
Due Foscari
Op. 125, PP.141.13
The date of this work marks it as a major work that Ponchielli produced to mark the beginning of the "Autumn" season of his first year of the re-constituted band. It is the longest of the commentaries at nearly 19 minutes in length. Its length seems to have led to a practice not unlike a bricklayer in that he seems to have extracted several shorter sections to "fill out" programs whose length was not adequate. This assumption is based on the descriptions of arias and interludes that are contained within this huge work and that no shorter works based on Foscari have come to light.
I due Foscari is another of Verdi's operas rarely heard outside of Italy. Based on a play by Lord Byron, it resides in an era of Venetian glory (1457) and celebrates a tale of filial love and political duties, prime "verdian" fodder. The several arias/cavatinas that are included are certainly substantial to stand on their own.
Date on score: Tuesday, August 7, 1866, 7:30 [A.M.], Porta nuova, Cremona
Performances: Thursday, September 6, 1866, Piazza Cavour; Sunday, April 14, 1867, Piazza Cavour; Sunday, April 5, 1868, Piazza Garibaldi; Sunday, June 21, 1868, Secondo Baluardo del passeggio pubblico; Thursday, August 13, 1868, Piazza Cavour; Sunday, November 22, 1868, Piazza Garibaldi; Thursday, May 13, 1869, Piazza Garibaldi; Sunday, July, 11, SB; Thursday, July 22, 1869, Piazza Cavour; Sunday, December 5, 1869, Piazza Cavour; Sunday, December 19, 1869, Piazza Cavour; Sunday, March 6, 1870, PG; Sunday, May 5, 1870, Secondo Baluardo del passeggio pubblico; Thursday, July 7, 1870, sull area della chiesa demolita di San Domenico; Sunday, November 29, 1870, Piazza Cavour; Sunday, August 6, Passeggio pubblico; Thursday, July 18, 1871, Piazza Garibaldi; Sunday, April 27, Piazza Garibaldi.