subject, delicate and full of pathos"." Thus, the rather lower key of the original piece stood out in direct contrast to the opera by which it was succeeded. However, as musicologist Roger Parker notes, it appears that Verdi was "concentrating on personal confrontations rather than grand scenic effects". Upon receiving the libretto by mid-May, the composer sent a long series of letters to the librettist over several months instructing him on many points where changes were needed. They revealed "the extent to which Verdi intervened in the making of the libretto, a good deal of the large-scale structure of the opera being dictated by his increasingly exigent theatrical instincts." With the music completed over the summer, I due Foscari was given its Rome premiere performance on 3 November 1844. Performance history 19th century Reaction to the premiere was tempered by several elements outside of Verdi's control, including the recent rise in seat prices by the management and the rather lackluster quality of the performers' voices. But the reception given to the composer by the management was very enthusiastic as was that of some of the press, especially the critic of Rivista di Roma who noted that "even more than in Ernani, Verdi has endeavoured to shake off his former manner, to return to the springs of passion and affection". Until the 1860s, the opera was seen in Italy in at least 22 towns and cities, including Livorno, Trieste, Naples, Parma, Bergamo, Teatro Carignano in Torino, Bologna, Catania, Florence, Cremona, Milan, and Modena through the 1846 season. It appeared in Barcelona in 1845 (July), in Lisbon, and Paris in 1846, in Venezia, and Prato in 1847, and in Palermo and Teatro Regio (Turin) between 1850 and 1851. The first performances in the UK were given in London at Her Majesty's Theatre on 10 April 1847. In the US, the opera was first presented in Boston on 10 May 1847. Paris saw a production in December 1846 at the Théâtre des Italiens, and it was taken up by several major Italian opera houses. 20th century and beyond In modern times Foscari has received numerous productions. There was a flurry after the Second World War (Vienna, Barcelona, London, Leningrad, New York), and following a La Fenice staging in 1957 with Leyla Gencer under Tullio Serafin, Piero Cappuccilli led many performances around Italy at the end of that decade and the during the next,