Un giorno di regno is the rare case of a musical comedy by Verdi. But his second stage work proved a complete fiasco when unveiled at La Scala, Milan, in 1840 and more than half a century was to pass before he attempted a second comedy with his final opera Falstaff. Today, conversely, Verdi's early melodramma giocoso enjoys increasing popularity thanks to its wellspring of musical ideas and effervescent melodies.