Giuseppe Verdi
If you listen to opera, you might feel Italian; you will surely see Verdi. Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, born in 1803, defined Italian opera throughout the nineteenth century. He began composing at the age of fifteen when he was an assistant church organist. Rejected from the main conservatory, Verdi studied in private before establishing himself in the opera world with with his Oberto in 1839. While writing his second opera, Un Giorno di Regno, Verdi’s wife died, which tragically followed the loss of their two children in the previous two years. While this opera was judged a failure, Verdi recovered to create the landmark operas of Nabucco (1842), I Lombardi (1843), Ernani (1844), Macbeth (1847), and Luisa Miller (1849). In the early 1850s, Verdi lived with the soprano Giuseppina Strepponi, whom he would later marry. During this time, Verdi wrote Rigoletto (1851), Il Trovatore (1853), and La Traviata (1853), which failed at its premiere but became the famous opera it is today after Verdi reworked it for a new version the following year. In addition to serving in the local parliament, and later in the national parliament as a senator, Verdi continued his string of successful operas with Simon Boccanegra (1857), Un Ballo in Maschera (1859), La Forza del Destino, and Don Carlo in Paris in 1867. His fame extended beyond the theatre. His name became the rallying cry for Italian unification: V (ittorio) E (mmanuele), R (e) D'l (talia), or "Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy." Aida (1870-71) was presented at the Cairo Opera House to mark the opening of the Suez Canal. Verdi composed the Requiem Mass (1874) in honor of the death of Italian writer, and proponent of Italian unity, Alessandro Manzoni. Verdi was determined to retire but then was introduced to Arrigo Boito. Their mutual love of Shakespeare’s works led to the collaboration on Otello (1886) and Falstaff (1890), his last opera - a comedy. Verdi founded a home for retired musicians in Milan, which received the bulk of his estate at his death in 1901. Twenty-eight thousand people lined the streets for his funeral procession. Aside from the over 200 films that have used his music, chances are that somewhere right now you can see an opera company performing Verdi.
