[2] Boito modeled his construction after the grand opera style of French dramatist Eugène Scribe; employing a historical framework with a wide array of characters that could provide a visual spectacle on stage and opportunities for contrast.

[2] La Gioconda was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 8 April 1876 with Italian soprano Maddalena Mariani Masi in the title role and Spanish tenor Julián Gayarre as Enzo.

[2] The work was positively received at its premiere with Milan's leading music critic, Filippo Filippi of the magazine La perseveranza, declaring that, apart from Giuseppe Verdi, only Ponchielli could produce an opera of such importance among Italy's then living composers.

[1] In 2022 La Scala premiered a new staging of the opera by director Davide Livermore with a cast led by sopranos Saioa Hernández and Irina Churilova who alternated in the title role.

[4] The United Kingdom premiere of La Gioconda was given at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 31 May 1883 with American soprano Maria Durand (b.

The celebrated tenor Enrico Caruso had the first major critical success of his career in the role of Enzo when he performed the part at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo in 1897.

[8] The Italian soprano Tina Poli Randaccio was a lauded performer in the role of La Gioconda during the first half of 20th century on the international stage.

In 1909 the opera was staged at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome with an excellent cast composed by Angelo Masini Pieralli, Giannina Russ, Luisa Garibaldi and Titta Ruffo.

[17] The Met returned to the opera a third time in 1924 with a new production using choreography by Rosina Galli, sets by the Milanese designer Antonio Rovescalli, and a staging by director Désiré Defrère.

[20] A 1946 live performance at the Metropolitan Opera House starring Zinka Milanov as Gioconda, Risë Stevens as Laura, Tucker as Enzo, and Margaret Harshaw as La Cieca was recorded for radio broadcast and later released on disc.

[21] The Met took this production on a United States tour in 1967 with Renata Tebaldi in the title role, Franco Corelli as Enzo, Rosalind Elias as Laura, and Fausto Cleva conducting.

[22] The Wallmann and Montresor production remained in the Met's repertory for 17 years and was last presented by the company in the 1982–1983 season with Plácido Domingo as Enzo and Eva Marton in the title role.

[29] The San Francisco Opera (SFO) staged the work for the first time in 1947 with Stella Roman and Regina Resnik alternating in the title role.

[30] The SFO subsequently staged the opera in 1967 with Leyla Gencer as Gioconda and Grace Bumbry as Laura,[31] and in 1979 the SFO staged the opera a third time with an all-star cast including Renata Scotto as Gioconda and Luciano Pavarotti as Enzo; a production which was filmed for national television broadcast on PBS and which aired internationally through satellite technology at a time when that was rare.

[35] Emmy Destinn performed the title role in La Gioconda for the opening of the 1915 opera season at the Chicago Auditorium.

[36] The Chicago Civic Opera opened its 1924-1925 season with a production of La Gioconda starring Rosa Raisa as the ballad singer under the baton of Giorgio Polacco.

When his amorous advances are firmly rejected, he exacts his revenge by denouncing the old lady as a witch whose evil powers influenced the outcome of the gondola race.

Laura places La Cieca under her personal protection, and in gratitude the old woman presents her with her most treasured possession, a rosary.

The act ends with Barnaba dropping the letter into the Lion's Mouth, where all secret information for the Inquisition is posted, while Gioconda laments Enzo's perceived treachery, and the crowd returns to its festivities.

Alvise's palace Laura has been captured, and her vengeful husband insists she must die by poisoning herself (effectively committing suicide and condemning herself to Hell).

A crumbling ruin on the island of Giudecca In exchange for Enzo's release from prison, La Gioconda has agreed to give herself to Barnaba.

The ballet "Dance of the Hours" (Italian: Danza delle ore) from Act III of the opera became an international hit in the concert repertoire after it was performed at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.

[2] Budden asserts that although "a mere divertissement at Alvise's palace with no relevance to the action", it is "the only Italian ballet score which will bear transplantation to the concert hall, simply because it alone forms a completely rounded musical statement".

The dancers of the evening are represented by Elephanchine and her bubble blowing elephant troupe, and the night by Ben Ali Gator and his troop of alligators.

Another famous parody of Dance of the Hours is Allan Sherman's song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh", describing a miserable time at summer camp.