"The Venetian setting of this Byron adaptation inspired Verdi to some evocative woodwind writing à la Simon Boccanegra, and there is a remarkable passage for solo viola and cello like nothing else he wrote…. Act I consists of … three entrance arias (the writing attractively varied) before a soprano-baritone duet brings down the curtain. Act II builds from a solo, through a passionate duet and trio, to a rousing quartet. Act III features a nautical departure scene for the tenor that is as elaborate as any a Bellini heroine has been accorded. It's a quick opera, yet it does not feel superficial. Verdi's lifelong engagement with the theme of rulers hiding their private grief while in public view reached first maturity here…. One is struck by the generous amount of voice Leo Nucci [as the Doge Francesco Foscari] still has, his firm link to the old style, and the way his fine legato enables him to dominate a full ensemble…. Pendatchanska offers a bright tone with real squillo…. It's the tenor's opera (until he is dispatched offstage, and the baritone steals the show), and Vincenzo La Scola as Jacopo Foscari rises to the occasion…. [with] an appealing way of sailing over climaxes…. Nello Santi gives the score everything it needs."—Opera News