Egli non riede ancora!… Non so le tetre immagini (Il corsaro)

Il corsaro belongs to the stretch Verdi later called his years in the galley. He had had Byron's poem in mind since 1844, but by the time Francesco Maria Piave's libretto was ready he had lost interest in it, and he handed the finished score to the publisher Francesco Lucca to discharge a contract rather than overseeing the production himself. The premiere took place at the Teatro Grande in Trieste on 25 October 1848; Verdi did not attend and took no part in the preparations. The opera disappeared almost at once and has been heard only occasionally since.