From Grange Park Opera's website:

"Who knew that the political shenanigans of 15th-century Genoa could be so gripping?

The plebeians plan to overthrow the aristos; a former pirate becomes Doge; a little girl disappears; poison is poured into a glass of drinking water.

Verdi first wrote this score in middle age. Returning to it decades later, he transformed a complex drama into this masterpiece, where dark personal histories clash with affairs of state.

Simon Keenlyside stars as the tortured, conflicted Doge, trying to do the right thing."

More information and tickets

Watch Simon's video trailer for Simon Boccanegra at Grange Park Opera

Simon was filmed singing 'The Three Ravens', accompanied by Gianluca Marcianò, at a private Grange Park Opera event in London on Tuesday 22 April. Click on the link below to watch:

Watch Simon sing 'The Three Ravens'

Simon's Favourite Painting - featured in Country Life magazine

Simon discussed his favourite painting - Vermeer's 'Woman in Blue Reading a Letter' - in the 14 May issue of Country Life magazine. Click on link above, shared by Grange Park Opera, to read the interview.

SOUNDBITES

"Simon Keenlyside triumphs in Verdi's smart, sombre masterpiece. This take on the dark but uplifting tale is a staging as strong as Grange Park has mounted, with the great British baritone on gripping form.

The smell of power is on-stage from the start of the prologue, as the pirate Boccanegra is surprisingly chosen as Doge with the approbation of the crowd. Keenlyside transforms himself, growing in stature and nobility, his voice weaving around Verdi’s lyrical baritonal lines with gripping shaping and eloquence..."

"The show that opens GPO this year is actually billed as a double Simon show — “Simon Boccanegra with Simon Keenlyside”. Thankfully, the veteran and knighted baritone doesn’t disappoint. Twenty-five years go by during Verdi’s unwieldy drama, but Keenlyside is striking both as the skulking buccaneer of the prologue and then, weighed down by years of office, threatening yet careworn as the doge who tries to keep order over a fractious city.

There are moments of dryness in his upper range but he sings a noble Verdian line, and etches practically every word with meaning. Once a sea dog, always a sea dog, this Boccanegra keeps the salty energy to his dying breath.

Spare yet precise in gesture, Keenlyside is a singer-actor who holds the attention...."

"Simon Keenlyside brings authority to the title role in a minimalist Verdi production that does more with less.....

Each summer the company likes to field a big star, and 2025 is headlined by Simon Keenlyside taking the title role in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, the first of the season’s four operas. He has the authority, the weight of voice and the experience to make a strong fist of the role. At 65, his voice hardly seems to have aged and he is never constrained into holding back, though some Italian baritones, with a native feel for the words and shaping vocal lines, have shown there are alternatives to all-out fervour...."

"..Sir Simon Keenlyside takes the title role...he is a true vocal actor and makes much of the drama in the part..."

"..Sir Simon Keenlyside delivers a compelling portrayal of Boccanegra. While not a natural Verdi baritone—he lacks the dark, burnished voce nera of a Cappuccilli—he compensates with dramatic intelligence and expressive nuance. His voice is in fine form, and his emotional range—especially in scenes with Fiesco and Amelia—is affecting. His “Plebe! Patrizi!” is delivered with commanding conviction..."

"..Leading the international cast is the baritone Simon Keenlyside as the pirate-turned-Doge whose traversal from buccaneering man of the people to increasingly burdened public figure is finely achieved, his great plea for peace and love “Plebe! Patrizi!” delivered with tremendous authority. If he lacks the required rich Verdian voice, there’s still a lovely warmth to his tone and his stage presence remains as striking as ever. .."

"..Simon Keenlyside was a noble Boccanegra – by turns expansive, belligerent and vulnerable in one of Verdi’s most Shakespearean title roles..."

"...The Council Chamber scene was where this declamatory approach worked best – Keenlyside imparted a powerful curse.."