A few days after the triumphant premiere of La battaglia di Legnano on January 27, 1849 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, the eternal city witnessed the proclamation of the Roman Republic. In a moment of great patriotic unrest, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera evokes these historic sentiments, the enthusiasm and passion that engaged even the opera’s audience. These feverous emotions can be heard in the words of the choir that opens the first act: “Long live Italia! a sacred covenant / All holds close his sons [...] Long live strong Italia and one / with sword and thought! / This land for us / a tomb and also for the foreigner!

La battaglia di Legnano
Lyric tragedy in four acts
Libretto by Salvatore Cammarano taken by La Bataille de Toulouse by Joseph Méry
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
First performance: January 27, 1849 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome

New staging