Opera Bites: 'Simon Boccanegra' has political intrigue, murder plots and Placido Domingo

On Saturday, the high-definition broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera will be Giuseppe Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra." The performance begins at noon at the Town Plaza Cinema in Cape Girardeau.

This is one of Verdi's lesser-known operas, but, that being said, the role of Boccanegra is formidable. It usually is sung by a baritone, but in this production Placido Domingo will be singing the title role. That should be fascinating to hear.

The opera is set in Genoa, Italy, in the 14th century. The leaders of the plebeians are conspiring to name the former pirate, Simon Boccanegra, as doge. He accepts because he hopes to marry a woman named Maria. However, she has died, and the illegitimate child she and Boccanegra had has disappeared.

Act I takes place 25 years after the prologue. Boccanegra has exiled his opponents. Now a young woman enters the story; she is the daughter of Boccanegra, but he does not know this. The recognition between father and daughter is one of Verdi's most moving scenes. Things become really complicated after this.

In the second act one of Boccanegra's enemies tries to poison him.

In Act III Genoa is celebrating the doge's victory over his enemies, but he is dying of the poison administered in the previous act. Amelia, his daughter, is finally going to be able to marry the man she loves. As her father dies he names her husband-to-be his successor.

Verdi was never satisfied with this opera and wrote a revision of it 23 years after its premier. Boccanegra is both a leader and an outsider; if you like stories of political intrigue and murderous plots this is an opera to see. By the way, the doge's palace in Genoa is a beautiful old building facing a large piazza. As I was walking around there on a trip to Italy I saw the nearby tower where famous violinist Niccolo Paganini was held prisoner for some mysterious wrongdoing.

Barb Herbert of Cape Girardeau is an opera lover and host of KRCU's "Sunday Night at the Opera."