Biography
Giuseppe Verdi stood in relation to Italian opera much as Beethoven did to the symphony. By the time he emerged, some observers had already declared that worthwhile opera could no longer follow Rossini. Verdi nevertheless carried the genre to unprecedented levels of dramatic force and expressive range. Admirers rank him alongside Wagner, despite the completely distinct character of his idiom and artistic temperament. Ultimately both the accessible manner evident in Rigoletto, Il trovatore, and La traviata and the more profound manner displayed in Aida, Otello, and Falstaff confirm his command and his lasting enrichment of Italian opera.
Verdi displayed ability by age seven and already served as organist at a neighborhood church. About the same period he received a battered piano that he soon mastered. He settled in Busseto in 1823 and the next year began lessons with Ferdinando Provesi. By fifteen he was assisting as church organist and had begun to compose. From 1832 onward he took private instruction in Milan with Vincenzo Lavigna after the conservatory rejected his application.
He came back to Busseto, wed Margherita Barezzi in 1836, and, after several songs appeared in print, moved to Milan in 1839 to write his first opera, Oberto. The work succeeded, yet his following piece, Un giorno di regno, failed completely. During its creation his wife died, and their two children had already perished within the prior two years. Shaken and despondent, Verdi persevered and recovered with Nabucco in 1842 and I lombardi in 1843. Macbeth, Luisa Miller, and additional operas followed through the 1840s, most of them received with enthusiasm.
Near 1847 Verdi formed a liaison with soprano Giuseppina Strepponi; the couple resided for many years at his Sant’Agata farm before marrying in 1859. Between 1851 and 1853 he produced three of his most enduring operas. Rigoletto in 1851 and Il trovatore in 1853 triumphed at once, while La traviata in 1853 met a cool initial response yet succeeded the next season after modest changes. Following a lengthy stay in Paris in 1853, Verdi returned to Busseto and completed Simon Boccanegra in 1857 and Un ballo in maschera in 1859, both entangled with political issues that already occupied him as a member of the local parliament and later as a national senator. La forza del destino opened in St. Petersburg in 1862, and Don Carlos followed in Paris in 1867.
After moving to Genoa, Verdi wrote Aida between 1870 and 1871. Its premiere in Cairo that year succeeded, after which the composer set opera aside for a time. His String Quartet of 1873 and Requiem of 1874 nevertheless revealed undiminished creative vitality. Otello finally appeared in 1886, its progress slowed by painstaking work and by revisions of earlier scores. One further opera, Falstaff, emerged in 1893 and achieved striking acclaim. Many critics regard his final three operas as his greatest, attributing to the aging composer a growing boldness and imaginative freedom.
In those later years Verdi also helped establish a hospital and, in Milan, a residence for retired musicians. Giuseppina Verdi died in 1897, after which the composer lived at the Grand Hotel in Milan, where he found companionship with retired soprano Teresa Stolz. The Quattro pezzi sacri received their first performance in Paris the following year and proved to be his last work. On 21 January 1901 Verdi suffered a stroke and died six days afterward.
Verdi displayed ability by age seven and already served as organist at a neighborhood church. About the same period he received a battered piano that he soon mastered. He settled in Busseto in 1823 and the next year began lessons with Ferdinando Provesi. By fifteen he was assisting as church organist and had begun to compose. From 1832 onward he took private instruction in Milan with Vincenzo Lavigna after the conservatory rejected his application.
He came back to Busseto, wed Margherita Barezzi in 1836, and, after several songs appeared in print, moved to Milan in 1839 to write his first opera, Oberto. The work succeeded, yet his following piece, Un giorno di regno, failed completely. During its creation his wife died, and their two children had already perished within the prior two years. Shaken and despondent, Verdi persevered and recovered with Nabucco in 1842 and I lombardi in 1843. Macbeth, Luisa Miller, and additional operas followed through the 1840s, most of them received with enthusiasm.
Near 1847 Verdi formed a liaison with soprano Giuseppina Strepponi; the couple resided for many years at his Sant’Agata farm before marrying in 1859. Between 1851 and 1853 he produced three of his most enduring operas. Rigoletto in 1851 and Il trovatore in 1853 triumphed at once, while La traviata in 1853 met a cool initial response yet succeeded the next season after modest changes. Following a lengthy stay in Paris in 1853, Verdi returned to Busseto and completed Simon Boccanegra in 1857 and Un ballo in maschera in 1859, both entangled with political issues that already occupied him as a member of the local parliament and later as a national senator. La forza del destino opened in St. Petersburg in 1862, and Don Carlos followed in Paris in 1867.
After moving to Genoa, Verdi wrote Aida between 1870 and 1871. Its premiere in Cairo that year succeeded, after which the composer set opera aside for a time. His String Quartet of 1873 and Requiem of 1874 nevertheless revealed undiminished creative vitality. Otello finally appeared in 1886, its progress slowed by painstaking work and by revisions of earlier scores. One further opera, Falstaff, emerged in 1893 and achieved striking acclaim. Many critics regard his final three operas as his greatest, attributing to the aging composer a growing boldness and imaginative freedom.
In those later years Verdi also helped establish a hospital and, in Milan, a residence for retired musicians. Giuseppina Verdi died in 1897, after which the composer lived at the Grand Hotel in Milan, where he found companionship with retired soprano Teresa Stolz. The Quattro pezzi sacri received their first performance in Paris the following year and proved to be his last work. On 21 January 1901 Verdi suffered a stroke and died six days afterward.
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