The opera was begun somewhere around the fall of 1878[5][6] and first published in 1879 by the August Cranz company and performed at the Carltheater, Vienna, on 1 February 1879. An English translation and adaptation was completed in 1880 by Dexter Smith[7] and later by Oscar Weil and Gustav Hinrichs around 1883.[8] The first contemporary edit of the work occurred in 1950 for the premiere of the work at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with several more iterations occurring through the 20th century.[4]
In early-Renaissance Florence, the erotic novellas of the poet Boccaccio cause a stir and the locals are divided into the female fans of his scandalous tales and their jealous husbands. A plot is hatched by the husbands to chase Boccaccio from the city and have him locked up. But Boccaccio has other plans, including one to win the hand of the Duke's daughter Fiammetta, which he finally succeeds in doing after finding favour with the Duke.
Musical numbers
"Ich sehe einen jungen Mann dort stehn" (Boccaccio)
"Hab' ich nur deine Liebe" (Fiametta, later with Boccaccio)
^ a bAisenpreis, Uwe. "Franz von Suppé – Ein Morgen, ein Mittag, ein Abend in Wien". www.f-v-su.de (in German). Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^Weigel, Andreas [in German] (7 August 2018). "Hat Franz von Suppè seinen Boccaccio nachweislich in seiner Sommerfrische Gars komponiert?". Stars in Gars (in German). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^Weigel, Andreas (1 June 2019). "Warum Franz von Suppès Operette Boccaccio (höchstwahrscheinlich) keine Garser Komposition ist". Stars in Gars (in German). Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^Suppé, Franz von; Boccaccio, Giovanni; Smith, Dexter; Genée, Richard; Zell, F. (1880). Boccaccio, or, The prince of Palermo; comic opera in three acts. Prince of Palermo. Boston: Ditson.
^"Von Suppé's sparkling comic opera in three acts, entitled: Boccaccio / libretto by Messrs. Reece & Farine", via Trove. Retrieved 28 July 2013
^Gänzl, Kurt. "Boccaccio Operette in 3 acts". The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Retrieved 24 June 2023 – via Operetta Research Center.
^"BiblioTech PRO V3.2a". archives.metoperafamily.org. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Boccaccio, 1 February 1879". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).