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Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer, philanthropist, and politician who remains a national––and international ––hero, both for his role in Italy’s “Risorgimento” movement as well as his incomparable outpouring of infectiously melodic yet powerfully dramatic operas. A musician and storyteller in equal measure, his productions dominated the operatic conversation for much of the 19th Century, and his name became all but synonymous with Italian life and culture. Today, his works are an indelible part of the operatic canon, so much so that almost no current major opera house will dare exclude him from any given season.

Born to a middle-class family in the village of Roncole (part of what was then known as the Duchy of Parma), Verdi came from a long line of farmers near the neighboring town of Busseto, an area he was to return to again and again throughout his life. Verdi’s interest in music manifested early, and his parents encouraged his talents by gifting him his own spinet piano at age six. Lessons with local church musicians soon followed, and by age nine, Verdi’s facility with the keyboard had graduated him to an official position as Roncole’s church organist. By 18, Verdi was on his way to formal studies at the Milan Conservatory, but after a slew of “mediocre” auditions (or so his adjudicators said), he was unceremoniously sent packing.

The rejection mattered little to the people of Busseto, however, particularly as it meant Verdi would be free to assume the role of village music director. In fact, homegrown Verdi devotees were allegedly so enthusiastic they campaigned rigorously on his behalf, defying clergy members who favored someone else for the post. Verdi eventually won the position––supposedly after a pianistic face-off with his opponent––and settled down in Busseto as a newly married man. He and his wife, Margherita (the daughter of Verdi’s early mentor and founder of the Busseto Philharmonic Society), soon welcomed a daughter and a son, and it seemed the Verdis were destined for a quiet, provincial life.

Yet fate had other plans: some profoundly tragic, others virtually miraculous.

By 1838, the Verdi family had left Busseto behind and made their way to Milan, where Verdi offered up his first opera, Oberto (1839), for production. The work was performed at the prestigious Teatro alla Scala––a personal triumph that was marred by an unimaginable succession of losses. Between 1838 and 1840, Verdi’s wife and two children all passed away, causing the bereft composer to turn his back on music, at least for a time. But when a libretto based on a biblical tale crossed his desk, Verdi was coaxed into composing yet again. In 1842, his Nabucco (“Nebuchadnezzar”) hit the Milan stage, leading to one of music history’s greatest moments of socio-political serendipity.

The juxtaposition of Verdi’s opera, which centered on a displaced people grieving their homeland, and the political backdrop of mid-19th-century Italy was too much for the public to ignore. As territories within the disjointed Italian city states labored under Austrian occupation, Verdi’s music offered a patriotic soundtrack for nationals fed up with international invaders, and the composer would stand as a revolutionary symbol from Nabucco onward. Indeed, he and his operas––several of which featured thinly-veiled anti-establishment messages (Macbeto, 1847, and La Battaglia di Legnano, 1849, to name a few)––were so closely associated with Italy’s Il Risorgimento (“The Resurgence”) movement toward unification, his name became its own catchphrase.* In 1874, the people thanked Verdi by electing him to the relatively new Italian Senate. And to this day, Nabucco 's Act III chorus, “Va, pensiero” (“Fly, thoughts”), is an instantly recognizable anthem for many Italian citizens. 

On the heels of Nabucco, Verdi entered what he called his “galley years” (he wrote around 19 operas between 1839 and 1853 alone). Works produced during this timeframe included the still enormously popular Il Trovatore and La Traviata (both 1853) and pieces inspired by authors Victor Hugo (Ernani, 1844 and Rigoletto, 1851) and Friedrich Schiller (Giovanna d’Arco, 1845; I Masnadieri, 1847; and Luisa Miller, 1849). That Verdi sought out great literature for his librettos––many of which were written by his frequent collaborator Francesco Maria Piave (1810-1876)––was no accident: He was a keen observer of human behavior and highly adept at using music to convey a character’s outward appearance as well as their inner psyche. He also expanded the concept of using vocal color to express character motivation; for modern operagoers the “Verdi baritone” and “Verdi mezzo” are categories unto themselves, signaling complex individuals whose dreams and desires have ruinous consequences.

No stranger to dreams and desires himself, Verdi led a complicated personal life split between his cosmopolitan fame and a quieter country existence at an escapist villa he built in Sant’Agata, just north of Busseto. These conflicting realities brought challenges, chief among them the scandal that erupted in Busseto over Verdi’s affair with soprano Giuseppina Strepponi (1815-1897), whom he eventually married in 1859. Societal objection to their union was uncannily similar to that experienced by the hero and heroine in La Traviata, and the marriage would suffer its own internal strife due to Verdi’s romance with yet another soprano, as well as Strepponi’s chronic illness. Yet despite their many struggles, Giuseppe and Giuseppina remained committed until her death in 1897.

Professionally, the decades following his second marriage brought Verdi some degree of international acclaim, with milestones achieved in St. Petersburg (La Forza del Destino, 1862) Paris (Don Carlos, 1867, Verdi’s most famous foray into French grand opéra) and Cairo (Aïda, 1871). Aïda, which managed to pay homage to older Italian styles while simultaneously experimenting with a more modern approach to dramatic and thematic continuity, marked the beginning of Verdi’s final composition era. His last two operas, both written with librettist Arrigo Boito (1842-1918, also a composer in his own right) were a culmination of Verdi’s lifelong love of Shakespeare, first evident in Macbeto and briefly explored in vague sketches for an opera entitled Re Lear. The resulting masterpieces were Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893, based on The Merry Wives of Windsor), both of which helped usher in a new form of Italian opera where music and story blended more seamlessly, and emotion propelled singing forward more intensely.

Verdi died from complications following a stroke in 1901. His passing was cause for national mourning, and a reported 250,000 people were on hand for his funeral procession, some of whom burst into a rendition of “Va, pensiero” led by celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini (1867-1857). As per Verdi’s instruction, royalties from his operas were passed onto the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti (“Rest Home for Musicians”), a retirement facility the composer had founded in the hopes of supporting musical colleagues into their old age, even long after his death.

The Casa is still in operation today.

Viva Verdi.

*“Viva Verdi!” was reportedly a popular mantra for proponents of Il Risorgimento, partially due to Verdi’s stirring melodies, and partially because his name was a handy acronym honoring the Italian choice for unified leadership: Vittorio Emanuele II. (V.E.R.D.I.= “Vittorio Emanuele, re d’Italia” or “Vittorio Emanuele, king of Italy.”)

Written by Eleni Hagen

Sources

Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning

Eric Friedman 
Director, Digital Learning

Kenny Neal 
Manager, Digital Education Resources

Tiffany A. Bryant 
Manager, Operations and Audience Engagement

JoDee Scissors 
Content Specialist, Digital Learning

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