- I Vespri Siciliani (The Sicilian Vespers) was written as a five-act French grand opera between 1852-55; it premiered under the French title Les Vêpres siciliennes at the Paris Opéra in 1855. It was later translated into Italian, which is the more popular version performed today.
- Writing a French grand opera was a new “experiment” for Verdi, unlike anything he had produced before.
- Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier wrote the libretto, based on an existing libretto by the duo called Le duc d’Albe. The Italian version had to be censored to be performed because of its political subject matter.
- Fun fact: the overture to I Vespri Siciliani is the longest Verdi ever wrote.1
- The plot of I Vespri Siciliani is inspired by the French occupation of Sicily in the 13th century and the Sicilians’ subsequent rebellion.
- Synopsis for I Vespri Siciliani
Sources
- Roger Parker, “Vêpres siciliennes, Les,” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed October 19, 2026, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000008984.
Cut IDs
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