Giuseppe Verdi

I

Introduction

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Italian opera composer, whose works stand among the greatest in the history of opera. He is considered by many to be the greatest Italian opera composer of all time. Verdi’s works are remarkable for their beautiful melodies and dramatic power. His most popular operas are Rigoletto (1851), La Traviata (1853), and Aida (1871). In these, as well as in most of his other operas, Verdi displayed a deep understanding of the expressive power of the human voice and a genius for creating poignant and believable dramatic characters. Perhaps his greatest characterizations and his finest music are contained in his last two operas, Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893). Verdi also wrote nonoperatic works. The best known of these compositions is the Requiem Mass (1874).

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was born in Roncole, Italy, in the former duchy of Parma, which at that time was under French rule. He first studied music in the neighboring town of Busseto. In 1832 he was rejected by the Milan Conservatory because of his age; he was four years over the customary entrance age. Verdi then became a pupil of Milanese composer Vincenzo Lavigna. He returned to Busseto in 1835 as town music master, teaching at the music school and conducting concerts. He also wrote music, including marches, choruses, and church music. The position gave Verdi a sufficient income to marry Margherita Barezzi, whose father had paid for Verdi’s studies in Milan.

II

Early Works

After Verdi’s three-year contract in Busseto expired, he again went to Milan, at the age of 25. His first opera, Oberto, was produced at La Scala opera house in Milan with some success in 1839. His next work, the comic opera Un giorno di regno (King for a Day, 1840), was a failure. Verdi, also mourning the recent deaths of his wife and two children, decided to give up composing as a result. After more than a year, however, the director of La Scala offered him the libretto of Nabucco, a drama based on the biblical story of Nebuchadnezzar. Verdi’s imagination was fired by the story, and his opera Nabucco created a sensation at its premiere in 1842. Its subject matter dealt with the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews; northern Italy had passed from French rule to Austrian rule, and the Italian public regarded Nabucco as a symbol of the struggle against foreign rule and felt itself, like the Jews of old, in captivity. Its chorus of exiled Hebrew slaves, “Va, pensiero” (Go, my thoughts), became the underground hymn of Italian nationalists.

Nabucco was followed by I Lombardi in 1843 and Ernani in 1844, both great successes. Like Nabucco, I Lombardi provided an opportunity for the hidden expression of patriotic feelings: A chorus of Italians on a crusade to the Holy Land long for their homeland. Ernani, based on a romantic drama by French writer Victor Hugo, quickly carried Verdi’s fame beyond Italy. The next years produced ten operas in quick succession: I due Foscari (1844), Giovanna d’Arco (1845), Alzira (1845), Attila (1846), Macbeth (1847), I masnadieri (1847), Il corsaro (1848), La battaglia di Legnano (1849), Luisa Miller (1849), and Stiffelio (1850). Of these, two are especially outstanding: Macbeth, the first result of Verdi’s admiration for English dramatist William Shakespeare, and Luisa Miller, a work in a more intimate style.

---

---

III

Mature Period

Between 1851 and 1853 came the three popular masterpieces of Verdi’s maturity: Rigoletto (1851), Il Trovatore (1853), and La Traviata (1853). Each shows a different aspect of the composer’s genius. Rigoletto, based on Hugo’s Le roi s’amuse (The King Amuses Himself), displays Verdi’s gift for writing vigorous and passionate melodies. In addition it demonstrates a new conception of operatic construction. There is greater musical continuity and less contrast between the recitatives (passages sung like speech) and the arias (songs), as Verdi provided more melody for the recitatives and made the arias less formal. The action is carried on primarily in a sequence of duets and other ensembles. A quartet in the last act of Rigoletto provides an example of Verdi’s ability to present in a unified composition the conflict of emotions among the different characters in a drama.

Il Trovatore (The Troubador), based on a romantic Spanish melodrama, called forth Verdi’s gift for writing strong, heroic melodies. La Traviata, by contrast, was based on the domestic tragedy of La dame aux camélias (Camille), a novel and play by French playwright Alexandre Dumas fils; it evoked music of pathos. Although La Traviata failed at its premiere, the work soon won wide popularity. The success of these three operas enlarged Verdi’s opportunities. In 1853 the Paris Opera commissioned an opera from Verdi, and he spent the next two years working in Paris on Les Vêpres siciliennes (The Sicilian Vespers, 1855), which deals with a Sicilian uprising against French rulers in the 1200s.

In Paris Verdi was exposed to the French “grand” opera tradition, which had its effect on him. Grand opera called for lengthy works (four or five acts) and a lot of spectacle, including large choruses, many scenery changes, and a ballet or two. In addition, from The Sicilian Vespers on, Verdi’s operas focused less on the personal tragedies of individuals and more on lofty themes, including politics. Simon Boccanegra (1857) and Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball, 1859) were based loosely on historical events involving political rivalries and star-crossed lovers. Both operas show an increasing mastery of musical characterization and a greater use of the orchestra to underscore the drama of events. The latter traits are especially evident in his next operas, La forza del destino (The Force of Destiny, 1862) and Don Carlos (1867). Don Carlos, based on a play by German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller, is filled with grand themes—nationalism and liberation, conflict between church and state, conflict between father and son, masculine friendship, and love with many complications. Verdi gives musical expression to them in the course of five acts.

During the 1850s Verdi became increasingly involved with the political situation in Italy. He actively supported the efforts of Italian patriots Giuseppi Garibaldi and Camillo di Cavour to liberate Italy from foreign occupation and unite the country under Victor Emmanuel II, the king of Sardinia. The slogan “Viva Verdi” (Long Live Verdi) became associated with the nationalist movement, the composer’s name being an acronym for Vittorio Emmanuele, re d’Italia (Victor Emmanuel, king of Italy). Many of his operas carried some reference to nationalist struggles.

Verdi himself at times ran into trouble with French and Austrian government censors in Italy, especially when his plots involved regicide (the killing of a king). He withdrew A Masked Ball from its scheduled premiere rather than make the changes demanded by the censors. The opera originally involved the assassination (at a masked ball) of Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus III by a political rival. When finally performed its setting had moved to the American colonies, and the king had become a count and governor of Massachusetts.

After the difficulties with A Masked Ball, Verdi announced his retirement. He married his longtime mistress, soprano Giuseppina Strepponi, and busied himself at his villa Sant’Agata, near Busseto. However, an invitation in 1861 to compose La forza del destino for the opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia, ended his short retirement.

Verdi’s masterpiece in the grand operatic style was Aïda (1871), probably his most popular opera. It was commissioned by the khedive of Egypt to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal and was first performed in Cairo. The story, which takes place in Egypt, involves a conflict between love and patriotism. Verdi worked on the libretto himself but also found a collaborator to set it in verse. Three years later Verdi composed his most important nonoperatic work, the Requiem Mass in memory of Italian novelist Alessandro Manzoni. Verdi’s other nonoperatic compositions from this period include the dramatic cantata Inno delle nazioni (Hymn of the Nations, 1862) and the String Quartet in E minor (1873).

IV

Late Works

In his 70s, Verdi came out of an extended retirement to produce the supreme expression of his genius, Otello (1887). The opera was composed to a libretto skillfully adapted by Italian composer and librettist Arrigo Boito from the Shakespearean tragedy Othello. This was followed by Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff (1893), also adapted by Boito from Shakespeare and generally considered one of the greatest of all comic operas. Otello and Falstaff are the culmination of Verdi’s steady advance toward the coherent presentation of drama in continuous music.

In general, Verdi’s works are most noted for their emotional intensity, tuneful melodies, and dramatic characterizations. He transformed the Italian opera, with its traditional set pieces, old-fashioned librettos, and emphasis on vocal displays, into a unified musical and dramatic entity. His operas are among those most frequently produced in the world today.

	More from Encarta
	•  Important Notice: MSN Encarta to be discontinued. Learn more. •  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain