Nabucco (1842)
His breakthrough at La Scala; contains the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, "Va, pensiero"
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Music
Giuseppe Verdi
1813–1901 · Italian
Romantic
Verdi was the towering figure of 19th-century Italian opera, whose stirring choruses and passionate, melodic dramas became symbols of the Risorgimento. From Nabucco (1842) to Falstaff (1893), his operas remain the core of the repertoire worldwide.
How to spot them
- ▸Big, singable Italian tunes with a strong "oom-pah-pah" accompaniment and rousing unison choruses
- ▸Dramatic Italian opera: jesters, courtesans, gypsies, Egyptian princesses, Shakespearean heroes
- ▸Clues about the Risorgimento, "Viva VERDI", La Scala, Boito, or a Requiem for Manzoni
Key works — listen
Rigoletto (1851)
Hunchbacked jester opera after Victor Hugo; the Duke sings "La donna è mobile"
Recording: Giuseppe Verdi & Francesco Maria Piave · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Il trovatore (1853)
Gypsy melodrama featuring the Anvil Chorus
La traviata (1853)
Courtesan Violetta, after Dumas fils' La Dame aux camélias; includes the Brindisi "Libiamo ne' lieti calici"
Aida (1871)
Ancient-Egypt grand opera premiered in Cairo; features the Triumphal March
Messa da Requiem (1874)
Operatic Requiem in memory of the novelist Alessandro Manzoni, with a thunderous Dies irae
Recording: Unknown · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Quick-fire facts
- •He was born in Le Roncole, near Busseto, in the Duchy of Parma, in 1813, the same year as Wagner.
- •The Milan Conservatory turned him down as a student; it now bears his name.
- •"Viva VERDI" was a patriotic slogan meaning Viva Vittorio Emanuele Re D'Italia.
- •He was elected to the first parliament of the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
- •Aida premiered at Cairo's Khedivial Opera House in December 1871; it was not written for the Suez Canal opening of 1869.
- •His last two operas, Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893), both after Shakespeare, had librettos by Arrigo Boito.
- •Falstaff was his only comedy apart from the early failure Un giorno di regno.
- •He founded the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, a home for retired musicians in Milan, where he is buried.
Drill it — 9 cards
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Sources
- Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press) — Verdi, Giuseppe (Fortunino Francesco)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Giuseppe Verdi