Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi
A portrait by Giovanni Bol 1886 (National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome)
Born	Roncole near Busseto
Baptised	9 or 10 October 1813
Died	27 January 1901 (aged 87) Milan
Occupation	Composer of operas

Giuseppe Verdi(born Roncole nearBusseto,9 or 10 October 1813; diedMilan27 January 1901) was anItaliancomposerofoperas.

Verdi andRichard Wagnerwere the greatest composers of opera in the 19th century although they were completely different from one another. When Verdi was a young man the most famous opera composers in Italy wereGaetano DonizettiandVincenzo Belliniwho wrote in thebel cantotradition. This meant that their operas had beautiful tunes which were written for singers to show off their voices, even if what they sang did not suit the story. During his long life, Verdi changed opera so that it did not have to obey old-fashioned rules.

Early years

The smallvillagewhere Verdi was born lies in thevalleyof thePo Riverin the north of Italy. It was a poor district. His father was aninnkeeperwho had a smallfarm.The young boy must have been verytalented.He was given asmall harpsichordwhich he kept all his life. At the age of 9 he often played theorganfor church services in the village when the organist was away.

A few years later he composed music for theamateurorchestrain Busseto. A man called Antonio Barezzi knew many important people and he helped Verdi a lot. Later Verdi married a daughter of a friend. Barezzi sent him toMilanso that he could study, but Verdi had not been taught the piano properly and he did not get a place in the musicconservatory.He had some private lessons and learned a lot about opera as well as aboutliteratureandpolitics.In 1839 he composed an opera:Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio,which was performed inLa Scala,the world-famousopera housein Milan. It is not one of his greatest operas, but it helped him to become well-known and he was asked to write three more operas for La Scala. When his next opera was produced it was not a success: the audience did not like it and they hissed andbooed.There was also tragedy in his personal life at this time: his two children and his wife all died.

Early fame

Verdi managed to overcome his unhappiness in 1842 when he produced his operaNabucco.This was a great success and made him world-famous. He started to work very hard, composing two operas a year. He not only had to write the music but organize all the people to perform it. It was a huge workload. His operaErnani(1844) was one of the best from this period. In 1847 he had another big success withMacbeth.This opera, based onShakespeare’sfamous play, is still one of the best-loved of all operas. He was becoming a success.

For centuries Italy had been a collection of several countries, each with their own ruler. In the 1850s there was a lot of political unrest in the country. Verdi often wrote music for largechorusesin his operas. The words of these choruses were often about fighting forfreedom,and it was often thought that the songs were encouraging people torevolt.The songVa pensierofrom his operaNabuccowas about theHebrewslaveswho were captive inBabylon.People chanted it in the streets with the words suitably changed. Verdi became a great nationalhero.Italy eventually became one country in 1861.

Giuseppina Strepponi was thesopranowho sang the part of Abigaille inNabucco.Verdi fell in love with her. She had lived with another man and had three children so she felt that she was not good enough for Verdi. They eventually married in 1859. She was a great support to him until her death in 1897 although Verdi was not an easy husband to live with. He moved back to Busseto with her. He continued to travel a lot but did not let his wife come with him, leaving her behind in Busseto where she was not happy because many people there did not like her.

Three more famous operas were written at this time:Rigolettoin 1851 andIl trovatore(The Troubadour) andLa traviata,both in 1853. These operas have many tunes which became famous. They are full of exciting drama in which the characters are very skilfully described by the music. The music is not divided so clearly intorecitativeandarialike it had been for two centuries. Instead, the music is developing all the time, the arias run straight into the following music. He had a brilliant sense of drama, but he often had to fight hard to stop producers making changes to what he had written.

Verdi often had trouble with thecensors(the officials who decide whether the opera should be allowed to be performed). His operaRigolettowas based on a story calledLe roi s’amusebyVictor Hugo.The attemptedmurderof akingwas not thought to be a suitable subject. Verdi had to change the king into adukein his story and make some other changes before the opera could be performed. The story of his operaTraviata,based on a novel byAlexandre Dumas fils,was also thought to beimmoral.At the first performance theaudiencelaughed because theheroine,who is supposed to be dying oftuberculosis,then called "consumption",was very fat. However, the opera soon became enormously popular.

Regarding the instruments that Giuseppe Verdi was using for composing, there are a few known pianos that he had in different periods of his life. The instrument that Giuseppe Verdi was playing as a kid at the Bazezzi’s house, was a piano by Anton Tomaschek.Later, from the time of Rigoletto in 1851 to Aida in 1871 he was using the Viennese 6-pedal piano fromJohann Fritz.This exact piano can be seen in the composer's Villa Verdi in the Italian province ofPiacenza.

International fame

Verdi had become very famous by now, and was asked to compose for the Opéra in Paris. He had to write operas in the French style: operas with five acts and a ballet based on a serious story. None of the operas he wrote at this time for Paris belong to his best works. He was more inspired when writing for the Italian theatres.Simon Boccanegrahas a complicated plot, but the characters are described beautifully by the music.Un ballo in maschera(The masked ball) was about the murder of King Gustav III of Sweden. Again the censors did not like it and he had to change the story to a setting inBostonwhich rather spoiled the story. In the1860shis best works wereLa forza del destino(The Force of Destiny), written forSt Petersburg,Don Carloswritten for the Paris Opéra, andAidafor the new opera house inCairoinEgypt.Aidais considered one of his most perfect works. The first performance was not without difficulties: Verdi was having a long argument with the conductor Mariani who refused to go to Cairo to conduct it. The argument was made worse by thenewspaperswho accused Verdi of taking Mariani’s girlfriend. This caused a greatscandal.

Last years

Verdiretiredin the 1870s. He was a rich man who owned a lot of land. He gave a lot of money tocharities,particularly to one charity for elderly musicians. Even in retirement he was persuaded by hispublishersto write two more operas. He became fascinated by Shakespeare and he wroteOtelloto alibrettobyArrigo Boito.This was a brilliant libretto and it helped him to write a great masterpiece in which every little detail of the story is beautifully described by the music. His very last opera,Falstaff(1893) is based on Shakespeare’sMerry Wives of Windsor.Verdi continued to write a few religious pieces in his old age. He died of astrokein Milan in 1901.