About the work
Opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi after Victor Hugo's play 'Hernani' (1830), first performed on 9 March 1844 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. As Verdi's fifth opera, it marked his decisive breakthrough.
Plot
The outlawed nobleman Ernani, living among bandits, loves Elvira, who is to be forced into marriage by her guardian Silva and is also desired by the Spanish king Carlo. Because Ernani once owed Silva his life, he is bound by an oath of honour to kill himself the moment Silva sounds a horn. On Ernani's wedding night with Elvira, Silva calls in the oath, and Ernani dies.
Cultural significance
Ernani established the powerful, high-lying 'Verdi tenor' as a voice type in its own right. Elvira's entrance aria, 'Ernani involami', soon took on a life of its own as a concert piece. In 1903, Ernani became the subject of the first complete opera recording in recording history.