A few weeks after Don Carlo, another Verdi drama on the conflicts and solitude of power unfolds on Piermarini’s stage. A complex, dark opera with a convoluted plot, Simon Boccanegra was presented in its final form at La Scala in 1881 after a thorough revision by the composer, assisted by Arrigo Boito. However, it would not become a stable feature of the repertoire until it was restaged by Gianandrea Gavazzeni in 1965, and especially with the truly historic production conducted by Claudio Abbado and staged by Giorgio Strehler to inaugurate the 1971-1972 Season. Following Federico Tiezzi’s staging in 2010, this new production is entrusted to Lorenzo Viotti, the chief conductor of the Dutch National Opera who has already achieved an artistic maturity beyond his years, with Daniele Abbado directing.