Giuseppe Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani (Libretto)

'Les vêpres siciliennes' (The Sicilian Vespers) was first performed at the Académie Impériale de Musique in Paris on June 13, 1855, to great critical acclaim. However, in travelling to then-conservative Italy it got Verdi into trouble with the censors for its tale of rebellions and tyrants. The plot had to be changed, and a happy ending was inserted in Naples and Palermo! This version of the libretto by Eugene Scribe is in Italian and English (the translation being by William Weaver).