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
-
Best Opera Singers, Vol. IV
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Claudia Muzio, Francesco Merli
Ópera - Editado por SB Clasic el 22-11-2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay at Home with Verdi
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 21-01-2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Requiem: IV. Sanctus (orchestrated for two pianos, organ & percussion by Richard Blackford) (Single)
Clásica - Editado por Nimbus Alliance el 24-02-2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium: Verdi
Clásica - Editado por Cobra Entertainment LLC el 29-10-2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
GRANDI VOCI - GIULIETTA SIMIONATO Una collana dedicata con registrazioni originali Decca e Deutsche Grammophon rimasterizzate con le tecniche più moderne che ne garantiscono eccellenza tecnica e artistica
Giulietta Simionato, Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 27-04-2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La traviata: Libiamo ne'lieti calici (lofi version)
The Remix Station, Beathoven, Giuseppe Verdi
Hip-Hop/Rap - Editado por The Remix Station el 26-05-2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Aida: Celeste Aida (Digitally Remastered)
Nürnberg Symphony Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmur
Ópera - Editado por EMG Classical el 28-08-2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giuseppe Verdi (Musiker-Biografien, Folge 3)
Clásica - Editado por Audio Media Digital el 28-09-2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Trovatore (Il) (Highlights)
Ópera - Editado por Naxos el 01-09-2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Los Grandes de la Musica Clasica - Giuseppe Verdi Vol. 3
Clásica - Editado por ClassicalPirosDigital el 08-06-2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi, Misa De Requiem I
Clásica - Editado por ClassicalPirosDigital el 10-11-2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La Traviata
Orchestra Sinfoniea e Coro di Milano della Rai
Clásica - Editado por Blue music el 06-07-2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Singers for Verdi (Vol.1)
Clásica - Editado por Documents el 01-09-2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Russian Vocal School. Pavel Lisitsian
Clásica - Editado por Russian Compact Disc el 07-10-1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Il Trovatore
Giuseppe Verdi, Giuseppe Carannante
Ópera - Editado por Diarmonia el 25-08-2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le Requiem de Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi, National du Thèâtre du Bolchoï
Clásica - Editado por Via Classic el 21-11-1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Very Best of Verdi's Aida
Ópera - Editado por Past Classics el 03-02-2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Opera - Rossini, Verdi
Hamburg Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, Chor Hamburger Symphoniker
Clásica - Editado por Piros - Send el 06-05-2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 05-03-2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo