Verdi's Ernani

Ernani marked a pivotal turning point in Verdi’s career. Only his fifth opera, it would be the first in an incredibly successful collaboration with librettist Francesco Maria Piave. It was also the first opera that Verdi was able to create entirely on his own terms: his previous successes had delivered him the authority to choose the theater, singers, subject, and libretto he wanted, and the subsequent triumph of Ernani would prove this freedom suited him! Given free reign, the young composer chose Victor Hugo’s 1830 drama Hernani, a work of unapologetic Romanticism that had already stolen the hearts of audiences across Europe. In setting Hugo’s play, Verdi and Piave stick closely to the original text. The plot turns around Elvira, a fragile heroine desired by three men—the tenor Ernani (the prototypical passionate lover), the baritone Carlo (King of Spain), and the bass Silva (the abusive uncle)—who ferociously battle for her hand...

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