Who is Gioconda?
La Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito (as Tobia Gorrio), based on Angelo, Tyrant of Padua, a 1835 play in prose by Victor Hugo (the same source Gaetano Rossi had used for his libretto for Mercadante's Il giuramento in 1837). First performed in 1876, La Gioconda was a major success for Ponchielli, as well as the most successful new Italian opera between Verdi's Aida (1871) and Otello (1887). It is also a famous example of the Italian genre of Grande opera, the equivalent of French Grand-Opéra. Ponchielli revised the work three times; the fourth and final version was first performed in 1879 in Genoa before reaching Milan in 1880 where its reputation as the definitive version was established. There are several complete recordings of the opera, and it is regularly performed, especially in Italy. It is one of only a few operas that features a principal role for each of the six major voice types. The opera also includes the fa...
