About the work
Tragedia lirica in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini to a libretto by Felice Romani, first performed on 16 March 1833 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. Romani drew on Carlo Tedaldi Fores's play of the same name and on a ballet on the same subject that Giuditta Pasta, for whom the title role was written, had seen in Milan in 1832 and suggested to Bellini. Because completion of the score was delayed, the opera became the last Bellini and Romani wrote together, and their long partnership broke down afterwards.
Plot
Beatrice, twenty years older than her husband, is married to the Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, who has tired of her and turned to her lady-in-waiting Agnese. To rid himself of Beatrice, Filippo has her and the young nobleman Orombello, to whom Beatrice is attached, falsely accused of adultery and of conspiring against him. Despite contradictory testimony extracted under torture, Beatrice is sentenced to death and is beheaded, proclaiming her innocence to the end.
Cultural significance
The story is based on a historical event of 1418, when Filippo Maria Visconti actually had his wife Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda beheaded on suspicion of adultery. Despite the prominent casting of Giuditta Pasta, the premiere was a failure after only three performances, and the work has never established itself in the core repertoire.