TheatreHD Opera Club in GUM Cinema. I due Foscari. Special screening with Alla Sigalova

"I Due Foscari" is a story about fathers and sons, based on a drama by Byron. The Doge of Venice, Francesco Foscari, is torn between his duty to the state and his love for his son. His heir, Jacopo, has been unjustly condemned by the Council of Ten for a murder he did not commit. The tragedy unfolds against amber-hued Venetian sets that symbolise a dying grandeur. The city in its golden sunset is a bizarre carnival mask, hiding an abyss of cruelty behind it. Hermanis's production is a masterclass in how direction can be invisible yet absolutely precise. It never distracts the listener from the singing, yet it creates exactly the right atmosphere of pressure and hopelessness. 

The role of Doge Francesco Foscari was sung by Plácido Domingo in his new baritone register, which suits him remarkably well. At the time of the recording, the maestro was 75, and he had already sung this role in Los Angeles, London, and Vienna. Beside him on stage are Francesco Meli (Jacopo) and Anna Pirozzi (Lucrezia), both utterly convincing in their roles. At the podium, maestro Michele Mariotti — widely regarded as one of the finest Verdi conductors of our time.