San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles: Simon Boccanegra

[heyfigarodavid]

Good overview but some plot inaccuracies! The text makes it clear that: Paolo persuades the crowd to elect Simon; Simon's daughter Maria goes missing when her aged nurse dies. She is cared for in a convent where Amelia Grimaldi is dying. The exiled Grimaldis need an heir to their estates and bring up Maria as their own Amelia. She knows she is an orphan. Fiesco/Andrea tells Gabriele this info, not her. Paolo is the same age as Simon - 50. Paolo wants Amelia for her money; her father denies him.