I due Foscari

I due Foscari (The Two Foscari) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on a historical play, The Two Foscari by Lord Byron.
Verdi had considered the Byron play as a subject as early as 1843. But when he proposed such an opera to La Fenice in Venice, it was rejected as unsuitable. The story included criticism of actions of the Republic of Venice, which was offensive to the great families of Venice that had governed the Republic, including the still extant Foscari family. At the same time, a new opera on the subject of Lorenzino de' Medici, which Verdi proposed for the Teatro Argentina in Rome, was rejected by that house. I due Foscari was substituted and it was given its premiere performance there on 3 November 1844.