Giuseppe Verdi

Born: October 9/10, 1813, Roncole (Parma), Italy Died: June 27, 1901, Milan - Biography - Musical Examples - Works - Links - Romantic Composer Index

In his own words....

"For dramatic effectiveness, it seems to me that the best material I have yet put to music is Rigoletto. It has the most powerful situations, it has variety, vitality, pathos; all the dramatic developments result from the frivolous, licentious character of the Duke. Hence Rigoletto's fears, Gilda's passions, etc., which give rise to many dramatic situations, including the scene of the quartet, which so far as effect is concerned, will always be one of the finest our theater can boost."

Italian operatic composer. He was the leading figure of Italian music in the nineteenth century and made important contributions to the development of opera.

In the third part of Nabucco, Verdi's first operatic success, the chorus of Hebrew slaves sings of their homeland: "Go, my thoughts on golden wings. . . . " For an Italian in 1842, the predicament of the Israelites in Egypt was a clear reference to Italian suffering under Austrian domination, and this chorus became a rallying cry for the Risorgiamento—the struggle for a unified and independent Italy. Its composer, Giuseppe Verdi, became a national hero (and eventually an honorary senator). Even today, the first notes of this moving chorus can bring a crowd to its feet singing, and Verdi is claimed as "Italy's Composer."

Verdi was born in the small village of Ron-cole in the province of Parma. His family—moderately well-off landholders, despite Verdi's continued references to childhood poverty—recognized and encouraged his talents early on, and he received a good basic education in the nearby town of Busseto. He studied in Milan, and returned to Busseto to take the position of musical director for the town. Although his success at operatic composition soon took him all over Europe, he loved nothing better than to return to his small farm outside of the town.

Verdi is best known for the operas from his middle years, Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), and La traviata (1853) and his three final works, Aida (1871), Otello (1887), and Falstaff (1893). In these works, as in all his operas, Verdi attempted to balance the art of bel canto, which he had inherited from Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini, with the demands of the drama. Because of this, his works present characters that are vocally exciting and at the same time emotionally engaging. Verdi's orchestra and chorus also played a vital role. No composer has so dominated the Italian stage as Verdi did, and his works are still a mainstay of the operatic repertoire throughout the world.

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Musical Examples:

• Requiem, "Rex traemendae majestatis" and "Dies irae"
• "Caro nome" from Rigoletto
• "Sanctus" from the Missa da Requiem (1874)
• Aria: "Sempre libera" from La traviata, Act I
• Aria: "Dio, che nell'alma infondere" from Don Carlo, Act II

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Works:

• 28 operas, including Macbeth (1847), Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (The Troubadour, 1853), La traviata (The Lost One, 1853), Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball, 1859), La forza del destino (The Force of Destiny, 1862), Don Carlos (1867), Aida (1871), Otello (1887), and Falstaff (1893)
• Vocal music, including a Requiem Mass (1874)

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Links:

• A Brief Biography
  From the Classcial Music Pages, this page provides a biography from The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music and a brief bibliography
• Works and Recommended Recordings
  This page from the ClassicalNet site provides a list of Verdi's most popular works along with recommended recordings and links to other sites. Other recordings, with audio samples, are available at Classical Insites.
• Verdiana
  This beautifully designed site presents an illustrated hypertext chronology of Verdi and his works. Many photographs of Verdi and important people in his life are included, and you can learn about many of his operas and their history.
• La Traviata: A Study Guide
  A good introduction to this Verdi masterpiece. The author focuses on the historical background of the opera and the Dumas novel on which it is based. The essay also introduces the Franco Zefirelli film of the opera, and provides some hints for watching opera.

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