Giovanna d’Arco

Description

Giovanna d'Arco, Verdi's seventh opera, was written between the composition of I Due Foscari (November 1844) and Alzira (August 1845), a period during which Verdi was already enjoying great popularity; he was indeed considered the heir to Bellini and Donizetti. After the success of Nabucco, which had launched him onto the Italian opera stage, the Venetian triumph of Ernani had consolidated Verdi's reputation as a composer of international stature, in Italy and beyond. The composition of Giovanna d'Arco is not clearly documented in Verdi's letters, but we now know that he wrote it in just four months, using a libretto by Temistocle Solera based on the five-act romantic tragedy Die Jungfrau von Orléans by Friedrich Schiller. Giovanna d'Arco contains a profusion of beautiful music that demonstrates Verdi's infallible theatrical sense and perfect dramatic timing, which are very characteristic of his style. Opera in one prologue and three acts
Libretto by Temistocle Solera after La Pucelle d'Orléans by F. von Schiller
Premiere on 15 February 1845 at La Scala in Milan