Editing Ernani (section)

==Composition history==
[[File:Giuseppe_Verdi_portrait.jpg#file|thumb|upright|Verdi]]

Following the success of both ''[[Nabucco]]'' and ''[[I Lombardi alla prima crociata|I Lombardi]]'', Verdi was approached by many opera companies wanting to commission him to write an opera for their houses. Rather than prepare another for La Scala, he was interested in a commission for two operas for the 1843–44 season (one of which would be ''I Lombardi'') which came from the President of the [[Teatro la Fenice]] in Venice, Marquis Nanni Mocenigo.

However, the composer was only willing to accept the terms which he proposed: 12,000 Austrian lire to be paid after the first performance, not the third as proposed by Venice (Verdi recalled what had happened to ''[[Un giorno di regno]]'' with its one and only performance). Amongst other stipulations, he demanded the right to choose his own subject and his own librettist, and also to pay him directly, as well as refusing to accept the requirement that a full orchestral score be available in advance. In addition, he had the right to choose the singers from the assembled company for that season.<ref name="BUDD">Budden (1984), pp. 139–141</ref> David Kimbell notes one additional demand:

<blockquote>He explains [to Mocenigo at La Fenice]—and this was rare at the time—that he began to compose only when the libretto was completed to his satisfaction because "when I have a general conception of the whole poem, the music comes of its own accord"<ref name="KIMB">Kimbell, in Holden 2001, pp. 980–981</ref></blockquote>

Once this agreement was settled upon, the next step was to choose a subject, something which took some time. Several subjects came to Verdi's attention: for example, Byron's ''[[The Corsair]]'' was considered, but the right baritone was not available. In thinking about an opera about the Venetian [[Francesco Foscari|Foscari]] family, he found that it was forbidden by the censor in order to avoid upsetting any of the descendants of that family who were then living in Venice. (Both of these subjects were to become later Verdi operas, ''[[Il corsaro]]'' and ''[[I due Foscari]]'', the latter opening in Rome later in 1844.)

An unsolicited manuscript from the unknown Francesco Piave (who was La Fenice's resident poet and stage manager in addition to being a friend of Brenna, the company's Secretary) proposed an opera, ''Cromwell,'' based on [[Victor Hugo]]'s [[Cromwell (play)|play]], and on which he had started work. Mocenigo assured the composer of Piave's sense of the theatre and of musical forms, and so they agreed to proceed, although by the time of its approval by the Fenice authorities, it had become ''Allan Cameron'', a story set in the time just prior to the accession of Britain's [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]. Immediately, Verdi took control and made it clear to Piave what he wanted in the way of a theatrical experience:<ref name="BUDD"/> "...Let's have as few words as possible ... Remember that brevity is never a fault ... But I do insist on brevity because that's what the public wants..."<ref>Verdi to Piave, 8 August 1843, in Budden (1984), p. 141</ref>

=== The idea for ''Hernani'' ===
The ''Cromwell'' libretto arrived from Piave in pieces, and Verdi put it away until he had the complete version to work from. However, when the composer and La Fenice's president met in Venice in late August, Verdi expressed some dissatisfaction at how the libretto had turned out. Then Mocenigo's casual reference to Hugo's successful 1830 drama ''Hernani'' as an idea for a libretto caught Verdi's imagination, as seen in a letter which the latter wrote to Mocenigo in early September which expressed concerns about ''Allan Cameron'' and the way it had turned out, though noting that this was "the fault of the subject and not the poet".<ref name="VtoM">Verdi to Mocenigo, in Budden (1984), pp. 141–142</ref> He continues:

<blockquote>But oh, if only we could do ''Hernani'' instead that would be tremendous. I know that it would mean a great deal of trouble for the poet but my first task would be to try and compensate him... all he would have to do would be to condense and tighten up; the action is already there ready made, and it's all immensely good theatre. Tomorrow I'll write at length to Piave setting out all the scenes from ''Hernani'' which seem to me suitable.<ref name="VtoM"/></blockquote>

At this point he continues with suggestions for the poet. For Verdi, the appeal of Hugo's work – which the latter described as "Romanticism or the Liberalism in literature" – was "the struggle between love and honour", and Budden sums up this appeal as "Within Hugo's scheme each illogical action follows logically from the one that precedes it, giving Verdi the pace, the eventfulness and above all the dramatic unity that he has been looking for."<ref>Budden (1984), p. 142</ref>

=== Setting the play as the opera, ''Ernani'' ===
[[File:Hernani.gif|thumb|Act 1, sc. 1 of ''Hernani'': the king steps from the cupboard to confront Hernani and Doña Sol (Elvira)]]

However, Piave was not at all pleased by this turn of events and felt that an opera based on ''Hernani'' could not be staged because of censorship. For instance, the King's first appearance in the play is from a cupboard where he has been hiding since some time after his arrival and before he meets Elvira. Thus he overhears much of the interaction between Elvira and Ernani before finally revealing himself. Verdi must have realized that no king "would ever be allowed to hide in a cupboard", according to Budden.<ref name="BUDD2"/>

But the La Fenice directorate did approve the concept and the librettist was offered compensation, although he saved his ''Allan Cameron'' in reserve in case of mishap. As it evolved, the opera – originally titled ''Don Ruy Gomez de Silva'' in synopsis form – came more and more "to reflect the unique character of the parent drama"<ref name="BUDD2"/> as Verdi wished to stick as closely as possible to the original play. For Budden, this "marks a new outlook in Italian opera", because this would never have occurred to either [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]] or [[Donizetti]], for whom plots were interchangeable.<ref name="BUDD2">Budden (1984), p. 143</ref>

Although Verdi had agreed to try to accommodate the contralto Carolina Vietti when the opera was ''Allan Cameron'', he was against making the leading character of Ernani a musico contralto. However, he compromised somewhat and, by the end of October, it appeared that the four voice types were to be soprano (Elvira), contralto (Ernani), tenor (Don Carlo), and baritone (de Silva), but after the acceptance of the libretto by the Venetian police, Verdi was able to hold firm and ultimately get what he wanted: a soprano, a tenor, a baritone, and – although Rosi was not an experienced enough singer – a bass in the role of de Silva. Thus it became a [[comprimario]] role, one to be sung by a second-rung singer in the company. But, as Budden notes, Verdi's "difficulties with singers were not yet over".<ref>Budden (1984), p. 145</ref>

The season opened with ''I Lombardi'' in December 1843. It was a disaster, with terrible singing from the tenor Domenico Conti. Two other operas early in the 1843/44 season were equally poorly received. Having heard one other potential tenor, Vitali, as a possible replacement, the composer presented an ultimatum: either be released from his contract or the company would engage [[Carlo Guasco]] in the role of Ernani. With a premiere set for March, two final glitches were overcome: the bass Rosi had disappeared from consideration as de Silva but was replaced by Meini, who then withdrew because he found the part too low. Verdi then engaged a member of the chorus, the bass [[Antonio Selva]] who went on to a distinguished career. And, in spite of complaints from the soprano, [[Sophie Löwe]], that she was not to be front and centre for the finale, she became part of the final trio.