Simon Boccanegra (Simon Blackmouth, or more figuratively Simon The Liar) is a historic drama about the first Doge of Genoa, the titular Simon.
The opera Simon Boccanegra is based on a play by Antonio García Gutiérrez, and set to music by Giuseppe Verdi with a text by his frequent collaborator Francesco Maria Piave. It was not a success at its 1857 premiere in Venice, but some time later, Verdi created a revised version in collaboration with poet Arrigo Boito, which premiered in Milan in 1881 and has become the basis for almost all performances since then.
One of Verdi's least famous operas, though the title role is a favorite of many star baritones, it breaks the Verdi mold in many ways, primarily by not having a completely tragic ending.
This work contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adopted into Royalty: Downplayed. Illegitimate child Maria is adopted by the Blue Blood Grimaldis.
- Adoptive Name Change: Maria Boccanegra is renamed Amelia Grimaldi after getting adopted by the Grimaldi family.
- Anti-Climax: Simon is responsible for the deaths of Gabriele’s family, and it’s the primary reason Amelia keeps her parentage a secret from Gabriele. When she finally has no choice but to reveal it to the latter? He accepts it at once and switches to Simon’s side without an ounce of inner conflict.
- Based on a True Story: Simon Boccanegra
is a historic figure, and his reign was turbulent and fraught with attempts on his life. - Bittersweet Ending: Boccanegra is poisoned and dying, but has had a good run as Doge, his enemies (including the man who poisoned him) are dead or exiled, he has reunited with his estranged daughter, reconciled with his father-in-law, seen his daughter marry the man she loves, and named the latter as his successor.
- Cruel Mercy: Fiesco wants to kill Albiani after finding out he was the one behind Amelia's kidnapping, but decides against it... so that Albiani, who is at that point dragged off to the gallows, will bear the additional shame of a Public Execution.
- Damsel out of Distress: After getting kidnapped, Amelia rescues herself by threatening Lorenzino with the Doge’s vengeance. Lorenzino gets scared and lets her leave (it doesn’t save him, as Gabriele gets him before Simon does).
- Deathbed Confession: Facing execution, Albiani admits that he kidnapped Amelia and poisoned Simon.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Simon dies in his daughter's arms.
- Doting Grandparent: For all of Fiesco's disapproval of Simon Boccanegra, he genuinely wants to raise his granddaughter and is willing to reconcile with Simon if the latter only lets him take the girl into his care. Unfortunately, little Maria has by that point disappeared, but, ironically, Fiesco does become the one to take care of her after she is adopted by the Grimaldis.
- Gold Digger: Amelia is afraid Paolo Albiani wants to marry her because he is after the Grimaldi riches. When he meets her, he is very impressed by her beauty as well.
- Heinousness Retcon: Paolo Albiani is introduced as a cunning politician, morally grey but ultimately good enough for Doge Simon Boccanegra to make him his trusted advisor. A Time Skip of twenty-five years later, he is suddenly so evil that he kidnaps Amelia Grimaldi when the latter refuses to marry him and then poisons Simon after the latter condemns the kidnapping. And on top of that? Apparently, his villainy is so obvious that when Amelia first meets Simon and tells him Paolo is a wicked Gold Digger (and at that point, she has seen Paolo in person for several seconds), Simon immediately believes her, even though before the Time Skip, he treats Paolo as firmly an ally.
- Honor Before Reason: Fiesco wants to kill Simon, sure enough, but he isn’t going to do it in exchange for his own freedom and when Simon is asleep. He isn’t pleased that Simon got poisoned, either, he wanted "another end" for the Doge.
- Jealous Romantic Witness: As Paolo Albiani is dragged off to the gallows, he is also forced to hear the wedding celebration of Amelia Grimaldi (on whom he has a Villainous Crush) and Gabriele Adorno. He brokenly cries out "The horror! the horror!" when he hears it.
- The Last Dance: While dying of poison administered by Paolo Albiani, Simon manages to reconcile with both Fiesco (his father-in-law) and Gabriele Adorno and reveal to them Amelia/Maria's true parentage, crush a rebellion against him, restore himself as a favorite of the people, appoint Adorno as the next Doge, have his murderer Albiani executed, and witness Amelia and Adorno's marriage.
- Love-Obstructing Parents: Jacopo Fiesco locked his daughter Maria up after her affair with Boccanegra and wouldn't let them get married. Predictably, it just led to Maria's death and a huge mess of drama and misunderstandings that lasted twenty-five years.
- Mutual Kill: Albiani fatally poisons Boccanegra, who then manages to have the former sent to the gallows and executed before succumbing.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Adorno is deeply remorseful when he realizes he was needlessly jealous of Amelia and almost killed her father.
- Not Good with Rejection: Albiani kidnaps Amelia after she refuses to marry him. And after she escapes and complains to the Doge, he slanders her before her beloved Adorno by telling him she sleeps with Simon.
- Obviously Evil: Starting from after the Time Skip, everyone inexplicably knows Paolo is evil but he inexplicably remains Simon’s right-hand man.
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: Amelia has a locket with her mother’s portrait. When Simon sees it, he realises she is his daughter.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Fiesco's first appearance is in the Prologue, where he sings a whole aria lamenting the death of his beloved daughter Maria."The wounded spirit of a sad parent
Was kept in the agony of shame and grief." - Parental Substitute: "Father Andrea", really Jacopo Fiesco, is like a father to Amelia Grimaldi. He is unaware that she is really Maria and his own granddaughter.
- Poor Communication Kills: One can understand Simon not condemning Paolo straightaway – the guy has power at court. But he could have legally acknowledged Amelia as his daughter and spared everyone a lot of problems. He has no legitimate children who would be troubled by her existence. Such a move would have made Fiesco switch to his side with lightning speed and maybe even removed Amelia’s claim on the Grimaldi fortune (and there goes Paolo Albiani’s motive, at least one of the two motives, in wanting to marry her).
- Raised by Rival: Simon’s daughter ends up being raised in the family of his political enemies.
- Relative Error: Adorno is quick to believe Amelia is the Doge’s mistress, due to their sudden closeness. Simon reveals that she is in fact his daughter before things get completely out of hand.
- Replacement Goldfish: The real Amelia Grimaldi died in childhood, so her parents adopted an orphan girl and called her Amelia instead.
- Suddenly Suitable Suitor: Inverted. Fiesco tells Gabriele Adorno that Amelia is, in fact, only a Grimaldi by adoption and really is an orphan of unknown background. Gabriele doesn’t care, and Fiesco proudly announces he is indeed worthy of Amelia.
- Time Skip: The original version has a 25-year time skip between the prologue and the first act, which contains pretty much the entirety of Simon's reign.
- Unexpected Kindness: Amelia expects no good from Simon, who is her family's political enemy. Instead, he hands her the official pardon of her exiled brothers, and she is amazed at such kindness.
