About the work
The Conspiracy of Fiesco at Genoa is a tragedy by Friedrich Schiller, written in 1782/83 right after Die Räuber. Gustav Friedrich Wilhelm Großmann's touring company gave the premiere at the Elector's court theatre in Bonn in 1783; the Mannheim National Theatre did not stage it until January 1784.
Plot
Genoa, 1547: the aging Doge Andrea Doria is threatened by his power-hungry nephew Gianettino. Count Fiesco leads a conspiracy against the tyranny, yet his own motives waver between liberating the republic and seizing power for himself. The staunch republican Verrina grows increasingly suspicious of him.
Cultural significance
Schiller wrote two different endings: in the printed text Verrina kills the power-hungry Fiesco, while the stage version has him renounce power for the republic's sake. After 1790 this version was repeatedly banned for its republican charge; today the play counts among Schiller's more rarely performed dramas.