Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi was to opera in the Italian tradition what Beethoven was to the symphony. When he arrived on the scene some had suggested that effective opera after Rossini was not possible. Verdi, however, took the form to new heights of drama and musical expression. Partisans see him as at least the equal of Wagner, even though his style and musical persona were of an entirely different cast. In the end, both Verdi's popular vein -- as heard in the operas Rigoletto, Il trovatore, and La traviata -- and his deeper side -- found in Aida, Otello, and Falstaff -- demonstrate his mastery and far-reaching development of Italian opera.
Verdi showed talent by the age of seven and even played organ at a local church. Around this time he was given an old piano, which he quickly learned to play with proficiency. He moved to Busseto in 1823 and began study the following year with Ferdinando Provesi. By age 15 he had become an assistant church organist and had already started composing. Beginning in 1832, he studied privately with Vincenzo Lavigna in Milan, after the Conservatory there turned him away.
He returned to Busseto and married Margherita Barezzi in 1836. Having achieved publication of some songs, he moved to Milan in 1839 and composed his first opera, Oberto. It was a success, though his next effort, Un giorno di regno, was an abject failure. Worse, Verdi's wife died during its composition. (Their two children had died in the previous two years.) Stunned and depressed, the composer struggled on to rebound with Nabucco (1842) and I lombardi (1843). Macbeth, Luisa Miller, and other operas came in the 1840s, most with great success.
Around 1847, Verdi developed a relationship with soprano Giuseppina Strepponi and the two lived together for many years on Verdi's farm, Sant'Agata, before finally marrying in 1859. In the period 1851-1853, the composer wrote three of his most popular operas. Rigoletto (1851) and Il trovatore (1853) were instant successes, but La traviata (1853) was a disappointment at its premiere, though a year later, with minor revisions, it was warmly received. After an extended excursion to Paris in 1853, Verdi returned to Busseto and turned out Simon Boccanegra (1857) and Un ballo in maschera (1859), both embroiling him in politics, an activity in which he was already immersed, since he served in the local parliament and later in national parliament as senator. In St. Petersburg, Verdi's La forza del destino premiered in 1862 and Don Carlos in Paris in 1867.
Having relocated to Genoa, Verdi composed Aida in the years 1870-1871. Its Cairo premiere in 1871 was a success, but the composer then gave up opera, at least for a time. His String Quartet (1873) and Requiem (1874) showed his creative juices were still very much alive. His next opera, Otello, came finally in 1886, Verdi working slowly and getting sidetracked revising earlier operas. One more opera came from his pen, Falstaff, in 1893, which scored a stunning success. Critical opinion has it that his last three operas are his finest, that the elderly composer became bolder and more imaginative in his later years.
In these later years, Verdi also worked to found a hospital and, in Milan, a home for retired musicians. In 1897, Giuseppina Verdi died and the composer thereafter lived at the Grand Hotel in Milan, finding companionship with retired soprano Teresa Stolz. A year later, his Quatro pezzi sacri premiered in Paris. This would be the composer's last work. On January 21, 1901, Verdi suffered a stroke and died six days later.
© Robert Cummings /TiVo
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The Very Best of Verdi's Aida
Oper - Erschienen bei Past Classics am 03.02.2014
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The Best of Opera - Rossini, Verdi
Hamburg Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, Chor Hamburger Symphoniker
Klassik - Erschienen bei Piros - Send am 06.05.2015
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Grandi Voci – Mario del Monaco canta Verdi, Donizetti e Bellini- Una collana con registrazioni originali Decca e Deutsche Grammophon rimasterizzate con le tecniche più moderne che ne garantiscono eccellenza tecnica e artistica.
Giuseppe Verdi, Gaetano Donizetti
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 05.03.2021
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The Famous Operas - Nabucco, Vol. 2
Compagnia Coro Teatro Lirico D'Europa
Oper - Erschienen bei ISTJDigital am 31.10.2016
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Swinging Carmen and Other Opera Greats - Modern take-offs with a Singing Chorus
Antonio Bacci & The La Strada Orchestra and Chorus
Klassik - Erschienen bei Michele Records am 23.05.2012
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La forza del destino
Oper - Erschienen bei Piros - Send am 05.07.2015
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Noches de Grandes Tenores y Sopranos
Vokalmusik (weltlich und geistlich) - Erschienen bei Piros Comercial Digital am 17.04.2014
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Cosmic Classical: Libra
Franz Liszt, Camille Saint-Saëns, Giuseppe Verdi
Lounge - Erschienen bei PMI Collins Classics am 23.08.2021
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The Famous Operas - Aida, Vol. 1
Compagnia Coro Teatro Lirico D'Europa
Oper - Erschienen bei ISTJDigital am 23.11.2016
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ll Trovatore (highlights in English) (in English)
Oper - Erschienen bei Stage Door am 07.07.2013
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G. Verdi: Requiem' Za Sole, Zbor I Orkestar
Klassik - Erschienen bei Croatia Records am 13.11.2014
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Relaxation: All You Need Classics
Klassik - Erschienen bei Cobra Entertainment LLC am 17.06.2014
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Clásicos del Milenio. Aida, Otello, Nabucco
Orquesta Sinfónica de la Academia de Santa Cecilia, Coro de la Academia de Santa Cecilia
Klassik - Erschienen bei Piros - Send am 15.03.2014
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Verdi: Don Carlos
Oper - Erschienen bei C.R. Digital Contents am 19.12.2012
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Requiem
Martina Arroyo, Carol Smith, Alexander Young
Klassik - Erschienen bei Claves Records am 01.01.1999
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Galina Vishnevskaya. Operatic Recital
Oper - Erschienen bei JSC Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica am 01.07.2016
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Discover Classical: Tchaikovsy, Verdi, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski, Giuseppe Verdi, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 09.04.2024
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Hanya Satu Persinggahan
Indische Musik - Erschienen bei Sinar Buana Record am 13.10.2022
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La Apoteosis de la Opera Verdi
Klassik - Erschienen bei JamadaDigital am 04.12.2014
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Verdi Arias
Josephine Barstow, Giuseppe Verdi
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei JAY Records am 15.09.1998
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