Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi(Italian Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, October 10, 1813, in the Italian village of Le Roncole, located in the northern part of Lombardy, on the lower tributary of the Po River, near the city of Busseto, French Empire - January 27, 1901, Milan, Italy) - Italian composer , whose work is one of the greatest achievements of world opera art and the culmination of the development of Italian opera in the 19th century.
The composer created 26 operas and one requiem. The composer's best operas: Un ballo in maschera, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata. The pinnacle of creativity is the latest operas: Aida, Othello, Falstaff.
Early period
Verdi was born in the family of Carlo Giuseppe Verdi and Luigi Uttini in Le Roncol, a village near Busseto in the department of Taro, which at that moment was part of the First French Empire after the annexation of the principalities of Parma and Piacenza. Thus, the future great Italian composer was officially born in France.
Verdi was born in 1813 (the same year as Richard Wagner, in the future his main rival and leading composer of the German opera school) in Le Roncol, near Busseto (Duchy of Parma). The composer's father, Carlo Verdi, kept a village inn, and his mother, Luigia Uttini, was a spinner. The family lived in poverty, and Giuseppe's childhood was difficult. In the village church, he helped celebrate Mass. He studied musical literacy and playing the organ with Pietro Baistrocchi. Noticing the son's craving for music, the parents gave Giuseppe a spinet. The composer retained this very imperfect instrument until the end of his life.
The musically gifted boy was noticed by Antonio Barezzi, a wealthy merchant and music lover from the neighboring city of Busseto. He believed that Verdi would become not an innkeeper and not a village organist, but a great composer. On the advice of Barezzi, ten-year-old Verdi moved to study in Busseto. Thus began a new, even more difficult period of life - the years of adolescence and youth. On Sundays, Giuseppe went to Le Roncole, where he played the organ during Mass. Verdi also had a teacher of composition - Fernando Provezi, director of the Philharmonic Society of Busseto. Provezi was engaged not only in counterpoint, he awakened in Verdi a craving for serious reading. Giuseppe's attention is attracted by the classics of world literature - Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe, Schiller. One of his favorite works is the novel The Betrothed by the great Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni.
In Milan, where Verdi went at the age of eighteen to continue his education, he was not accepted to the Conservatory (today named after Verdi) “due to the low level of piano playing; in addition, there were age restrictions at the conservatory.” Verdi began to take private lessons in counterpoint, attending opera performances at the same time, as well as just concerts. Communication with the Milanese beau monde convinced him to seriously think about a career as a theater composer.
Returning to Busseto, with the support of Antonio Barezzi (Antonio Barezzi - a local merchant and music lover who supported Verdi's musical ambitions), Verdi gave his first public performance at the Barezzi house in 1830.
Fascinated by Verdi's musical gift, Barezzi invites him to become a music teacher for his daughter Margherita. Soon, the young people fell in love with each other passionately and on May 4, 1836, Verdi married Margherita Barezzi. Margherita soon gave birth to two children: Virginia Maria Luisa (March 26, 1837 - August 12, 1838) and Icilio Romano (July 11, 1838 - October 22, 1839). While Verdi was working on his first opera, both children die in infancy. Some time later (June 18, 1840), at the age of 26, the composer's wife Margarita dies of encephalitis.
Initial recognition
First production of Verdi's opera (Oberto, Count Bonifacio) ( Oberto) at La Scala in Milan was critically acclaimed, after which the impresario of the theater, Bartolomeo Merelli, offered Verdi a contract to write two operas. They became "King for an hour" ( Un giorno di regno) and "Nabucco" ("Nebuchadnezzar"). Verdi's wife and two children died while he was working on the first of these two operas. After its failure, the composer wanted to stop writing opera music. However, the premiere of Nabucco on 9 March 1842 at La Scala was a great success and established Verdi's reputation as an operatic composer. Over the next year, the opera was staged 65 times in Europe and since then has occupied a strong place in the repertoire of the world's leading opera houses. Nabucco was followed by several operas at once, including Lombards on a Crusade ( I Lombardi alla prima crociata) and "Ernani" ( Ernani), which were staged and had success in Italy.
In 1847, the opera The Lombards, rewritten and renamed Jerusalem ( Jerusalem), was staged by the Paris Opera on November 26, 1847, becoming Verdi's first work in the style grand opera. To do this, the composer had to rework this opera somewhat and replace the Italian characters with French ones.
Master
At the age of thirty-eight, Verdi had an affair with Giuseppina Strepponi, a singer (soprano) who was ending her career by that time (they did not marry until eleven years later, and their cohabitation before the wedding was considered scandalous in many of the places where they had to live) . Giuseppina soon stopped performing, and Verdi, following the example of Gioacchino Rossini, decided to end his career with his wife. He was wealthy, famous and in love. Perhaps it was Giuseppina who convinced him to continue writing operas. The very first opera written by Verdi after his "retirement" became his first masterpiece - "Rigoletto". The libretto of the opera, based on Victor Hugo's play The King Amuses himself, underwent significant changes for the sake of censorship, and the composer intended to quit the work several times until the opera was finally completed. The first production took place in Venice in 1851 and was a huge success.
Rigoletto is arguably one of the finest operas in musical theater history. The artistic generosity of Verdi is presented in full force in it. Beautiful melodies are scattered throughout the score, arias and ensembles, which have become an integral part of the classical operatic repertoire, follow each other, and the comic and tragic merge together.
La traviata, Verdi's next great opera, was composed and staged two years after Rigoletto. The libretto is written based on the play by Alexandre Dumas son "The Lady of the Camellias".
This was followed by several more operas, among them - the Sicilian Supper, which is constantly performed today ( Les vêpres siciliennes; commissioned by the Paris Opera), Il trovatore ( Il Trovatore), "Masquerade Ball" ( Un ballo in maschera), "Force of Destiny" ( La forza del destino; 1862, commissioned by the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theater of St. Petersburg), the second edition of the opera "Macbeth" ( Macbeth).
In 1869, Verdi composed "Libera Me" for the Requiem in memory of Gioacchino Rossini (the rest of the parts were written by now little-known Italian composers). In 1874, Verdi wrote his Requiem on the death of the writer he revered, Alessandro Manzoni, including a revised version of the previously written Libera Me.
One of Verdi's last great operas, Aida, was commissioned by the Egyptian government to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. At first, Verdi refused. While in Paris, he received a second proposal through du Locle. This time, Verdi got acquainted with the script of the opera, which he liked, and agreed to write the opera.
Verdi and Wagner, each - the leader of their national opera school - have always disliked each other. They never met in their entire lives. Verdi's surviving comments on Wagner and his music are few and unfriendly ("He always chooses, quite in vain, the untrodden path, trying to fly where a normal person would simply go on foot, achieving much better results"). Nevertheless, upon learning that Wagner had died, Verdi said: “How sad! This name left a huge mark in the history of art. Only one statement by Wagner related to Verdi's music is known. After listening to the Requiem, the great German, always eloquent, always generous with (unflattering) comments towards many other composers, said: "It is better not to say anything."
Aida was staged in Cairo in 1871 with great success.
Final years and death
For the next twelve years, Verdi worked very little, slowly editing some of his early work.
Opera "Othello" ( Otello), based on a play by William Shakespeare, was staged in Milan in 1887. The music of this opera is "continuous", it does not contain the division into arias and recitatives traditional for Italian opera - this innovation was introduced under the influence of Richard Wagner's opera reform (after the latter's death). In addition, under the influence of the same Wagnerian reform, the late Verdi style acquired a greater degree of recitativeness, which gave the opera a more realistic effect, although it scared away some fans of traditional Italian opera.
Verdi's last opera, Falstaff Falstaff), the libretto of which Arrigo Boito, librettist and composer, wrote based on Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor ( Merry Wives of Windsor) in its translation into French, made by Victor Hugo, developed the manner of "through development". The brilliantly written score of this comedy is thus much closer to Wagner's Die Meistersingers than to the comic operas of Rossini and Mozart. The elusiveness and sparkle of melodies allows not to delay the development of the plot and creates a unique effect of confusion, so close to the spirit of this Shakespearean comedy. The opera ends with a seven-voice fugue, in which Verdi fully demonstrates his brilliant mastery of counterpoint.
On January 21, 1901, while staying at the Grand Et De Milan Hotel (Milan, Italy), Verdi suffered a stroke. Being stricken with paralysis, he could read with his inner ear the scores of the operas La bohème and Tosca by Puccini, Pagliacci by Leoncavallo, The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky, but what he thought about these operas, written by his immediate and worthy heirs, remained unknown. . Verdi grew weaker every day and six days later, early in the morning of January 27, 1901, he died.
Initially, Verdi was buried in the Monumental Cemetery in Milan. A month later, his body was transferred to the Casa Di Riposo in Musicisti, also in Milan, a holiday home for retired musicians that Verdi had created.
He was an agnostic. His second wife, Giuseppina Strepponi, described him as "a man of little faith".
Style
Verdi's predecessors who influenced his work are Rossini, Bellini, Meyerbeer and, most importantly, Donizetti. In the last two operas, Othello and Falstaff, the influence of Richard Wagner is noticeable. While respecting Gounod, whom his contemporaries considered the greatest composer of the era, Verdi nevertheless did not borrow anything from the great Frenchman. Some passages in Aida point to the composer's familiarity with the works of Mikhail Glinka, whom Franz Liszt popularized in Western Europe after returning from a tour of Russia.
Throughout his career, Verdi refused to use high C in tenor parts, citing the fact that the opportunity to sing this particular note in front of a full house distracts performers before, after, and during the performance of the note.
Despite the fact that at times Verdi's orchestration is masterful, the composer relied mainly on his melodic gift to express the emotions of the characters and the drama of the action. Indeed, very often in Verdi's operas, especially during solo vocal numbers, the harmony is deliberately ascetic, and the whole orchestra sounds like one accompanying instrument (Verdi is credited with the words: "The orchestra is a big guitar!" Some critics argue that Verdi paid technical the aspect of the score is not given enough attention, as it lacked schooling and refinement.Verdi himself once said, "Of all composers, I am the least knowledgeable. "But hastened to add, "I mean this seriously, but by "knowledge" I do not mean knowledge of music at all ".
However, it would be wrong to say that Verdi underestimated the expressive power of the orchestra and did not know how to use it to the end when he needed it. Moreover, the orchestral and contrapuntal innovations (for example, the strings that soar along the chromatic scale in Monterone's scene in Rigoletto to emphasize the drama of the situation, or, also in Rigoletto, the choir lowing nearby notes offstage, depicting, very effectively, approaching storm) - characteristic of Verdi's work - so characteristic that other composers did not dare to borrow some of his bold techniques because of their instant recognition.
Verdi was the first composer who specifically searched for such a plot for the libretto that would best suit the characteristics of his compositional talent. Working closely with librettists and knowing that it was precisely dramatic expression that was the main strength of his talent, he sought to eliminate “unnecessary” details and “superfluous” characters from the plot, leaving only characters in which passions were seething and scenes rich in drama.
Operas by Giuseppe Verdi
Vanity Fair, 1879
- Oberto, Count di San Bonifacio (Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio) - 1839
- King for an hour (Un Giorno di Regno) - 1840
- Nabucco, or Nebuchadnezzar (Nabucco) - 1842
- Lombards in the First Crusade (I Lombardi") - 1843
- Ernani- 1844. Based on the play of the same name by Victor Hugo
- Two Foscari (I due Foscari)- 1844. Based on the play by Lord Byron
- Joan of Arc (Giovanna d'Arco)- 1845. Based on the play "The Maid of Orleans" by Schiller
- Alzira (Alzira)- 1845. Based on the play of the same name by Voltaire
- Attila- 1846. Based on the play "Attila, Leader of the Huns" by Zacharius Werner
- Macbeth- 1847. Based on the play of the same name by Shakespeare
- Robbers (I masnadieri)- 1847. Based on the play of the same name by Schiller
- Jerusalem (Jerusalem)- 1847 (Version Lombards)
- Corsair (Il corsaro)- 1848. Based on the poem of the same name by Lord Byron
- Battle of Legnano- 1849. Based on the play "The Battle of Toulouse" by Joseph Meri
- Louise Miller- 1849. Based on the play "Cunning and Love" by Schiller
- Stiffelio (Stiffelio)- 1850. Based on the play "The Holy Father, or the Gospel and the Heart", by Emile Souvestre and Eugene Bourgeois.
- Rigoletto- 1851. Based on the play "The King Amuses" by Victor Hugo
- Troubadour (Il Trovatore)- 1853. Based on the play of the same name by Antonio Garcia Gutierrez
- La Traviata- 1853. Based on the play "The Lady of the Camellias" by A. Dumas son
- Sicilian Vespers (Les vêpres siciliennes)- 1855. Based on the play "The Duke of Alba" by Eugene Scribe and Charles Deverier
- Giovanna de Guzman(Version of the "Sicilian Vespers").
- Simon Boccanegra- 1857. Based on the play of the same name by Antonio Garcia Gutierrez.
- Aroldo (Aroldo)- 1857 (Version "Stiffelio")
- Masquerade ball (Un ballo in maschera)- 1859. Based on the real murder of Gustav III, which formed the basis of the play by Eugene Scribe
- The Force of Destiny- 1862. Based on the play "Don Alvaro, or the Force of Destiny" by Angel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas. The premiere took place at the Bolshoi (Stone) Theater in St. Petersburg
- Macbeth ( Macbeth) - 1865. The second edition of the opera commissioned by the Parisian Grand Opera
- Don Carlos- 1867. Based on the play of the same name by Schiller
- Aida- 1871. Premiered at the Khedive Opera House in Cairo, Egypt
- Othello- 1887. Based on the play of the same name by Shakespeare
- Falstaff- 1893. Based on The Merry Wives of Windsor and two parts of Shakespeare's Henry IV
Other writings
- E-moll string quartet - 1873
- Requiem - 1874
- Four Sacred Pieces (Quattro Pezzi Sacri) - 1892
Literature
- Bushen A., The Birth of Opera. (Young Verdi). Roman, M., 1958.
- Gal G. Brahms. Wagner. Verdi. Three masters - three worlds. M., 1986.
- Ordzhonikidze G. Verdi's operas based on Shakespeare's stories, M., 1967.
- Solovtsova L. A. J. Verdi. M., Giuseppe Verdi. Life and creative way, M. 1986.
- Tarozzi Giuseppe Verdi. M., 1984.
- Ese Laszlo. If Verdi kept a diary... - Budapest, 1966.
Films and series about the life and work of the composer
- "Giuseppe Verdi" (in Russian known as "The Story of a Life"; 1938, Italy). Directed by Carmine Gallone. Starring Fosco Giachetti.
- "Giuseppe Verdi" (1953, Italy). Directed by Raffaello Matarazzo. Starring Pierre Cressois.
- "The Life of Giuseppe Verdi (Verdi)" (1982, Italy - France - Germany - Great Britain - Sweden). Directed by Renato Castellani. Starring Ronald Pickup.
Memory
In philately
USSR postage stamp dedicated to Verdi, 1963, 4 kopecks (TsFA 2879, Scott 2745A)
- A crater on Mercury is named after Giuseppe Verdi.
- The feature film "The Twentieth Century" (dir. Bernardo Bertolucci) begins on the day of the death of Giuseppe Verdi, when the two main characters are born.
GIUSEPPE VERDI. VIVA, VERDI!
For someone, the name means the whole world, and someone, perhaps, was simply touched by one of his operas, say, "Rigoletto", and therefore there was a desire to know a little more about the person who wrote this music. The life of Verdi, not a musician, is elevated to the level of myths and legends. He became a national pride, a symbol of the unity of Italy. And as a musician and composer, Verdi became an unsurpassed hero of Italian opera.
Childhood of Giuseppe Verdi and the first teachers
Life was full of historical events, amazing people, tragedy and incredible success. All this became the basis for the birth of myths, which are often difficult to separate from real facts. The date of birth of the great maestro is authentically known. 1813, a son was born to Carlo Verdi and Luigi Uttini, who at birth 
was named Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi. The couple lived in Roncol, Province of Parma, Italy. Giuseppe was the fourth child and was born in a turbulent time when Parma was trembling under the onslaught of Napoleon's army. It is known from history that immediately after the birth of the boy, detachments of Cossacks captured Ronkol. It is believed that Verdi's mother was forced to flee with the newborn. They took refuge in the church, and the village in which they lived was completely destroyed. Now it is almost impossible to determine whether this is true or not. All biography Verdi decorated with near-tragic elements, so perhaps this is one of the tragic embellishments of his early childhood, which fell on wartime.
For many years Verdi claimed that his parents were illiterate poor people. However, there is evidence that his father was a landowner and innkeeper. He could be called uncultured, but by no means illiterate. The mother was straight. Another fact that can neither be proved nor disproved is that for many years a commemorative plaque hung in one of Ronkol's taverns, saying that it was here that the great musician was born. According to new information, however, this tavern became the home of Verdi's parents when Giuseppe was already 17, and by this age he had already left his parental home. 
Among these contradictory information regarding the birth itself, the place of birth and some facts of his childhood, there are those that are not in doubt - how Verdi came to music. It is authentically known that the church organ brought the young man into ecstasy and poetic delight, and the village organist became the first teacher. However, the boy quickly surpassed his teacher and even replaced him in the church service. When the boy was seven, noticing his son's interest in music, his father bought the young maestro an old shabby spinet, a keyboard instrument that is a kind of harpsichord. A master harpsichord maker named Cavaletti repaired the instrument without taking any money for his work. He did this exclusively "so that the young talent could learn music."
In 1823, Verdi's "talent" led him to the music school of Ferdinando Provezi, which was located near Busseto. And in 1825 he was already assistant conductor of the orchestra in Busseto.
"Leave the thought of the conservatory"
merchant Antonio Barezzi
Having studied the basics of composition and mastered the basics of conducting technique, as well as improving the ability to play the organ, he left the school. At this time, Antonio Barezzi, a merchant and chairman of the local Philharmonic Society, played an important role in the composer's fate, in whose life music occupied a large place. Antonio himself could play several wind instruments. Verdi's dream was to enter the conservatory in Milan. Barezzi helped him get a scholarship to study at the conservatory in the amount of 600 lire. In addition, Barezzi replenished this amount a little from personal funds. To the great regret of the future composer, he was not admitted to the conservatory (“due to the low level of piano playing”), in addition, the conservatory had age restrictions.
Instead of returning home, he decided to continue his music studies independently and for three years he took lessons in counterpoint from Vincenzo Lavigna, a former composer at La Scala. And it was in Milan that he discovered opera. In addition to lessons, Lavigny provided Verdi with the opportunity to attend musical performances and concerts, as well as rehearsals. He greedily soaked up every performance he could get his hands on. It was at this time that the foundations of the future musical theater in Italy and beyond were laid.
Once, none of the theater conductors came to the rehearsal, then Verdi, who was sitting in the hall, was asked to save the situation: “I quickly went to the piano and started the rehearsal. I remember very well the ironic mockery with which I was greeted ... When the rehearsal was over, I was complimented from all sides ... As a result of this incident, I was entrusted with conducting the Haydn concerto.
Happiness and tragedy, the first success and the first failure
The inspired composer returned to Busseto, where he received the post of head of the musical life of the city. He led brass and symphony orchestras, went to concerts with orchestras and performed as a pianist. He gives music lessons, among his students is the daughter of his patron Barezzi, Margherita. From the love of music, a romantic relationship began, which grew into love for each other. In May 1836, the wedding of Giuseppe and Margarita took place. A year later, a young couple has a son, and a year later, a daughter. It was during this period of family bliss that Verdi composed a huge number of works - marches and dances, romances and songs. But, most importantly, he begins to work on his first opera. There is a version that the opera was originally called Rochester, but then the name was changed to "Oberto"("Oberto"). The opera was well enough received that the composer was able to secure a contract for three more operas. Tragedy struck when he started working on his second opera "Un Giorno de Regno" ("King for an hour"). 
Suddenly, due to an incomprehensible illness, his little son died, and after him, his daughter also died suddenly. And soon after the tragedy, Margarita was diagnosed with encephalitis, and a few months later she also died suddenly.
Ironically, "Un Giorno" was conceived as a comic opera, and Verdi wrote it after the death of his beloved children and wife. Not surprisingly, the opera was a resounding failure. Having lost his entire family in a very short period, and finally finished off by a failed opera, the composer makes a promise to end his barely begun career. But the impresario La Scala persuades him to try again. Verdi writes an opera Nabucco ("Nabucco"), the plot of which describes the plight of the Israelites under the yoke of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. The premiere of the opera was nothing short of a triumph. Italians living under Austrian rule saw themselves in opera and hope for freedom. Opera "Nabucco" became the starting point of the composer's fame.
After staging "Nabucco" unsociable lonely Verdi returned to life and began to go out. The progressive Milanese intelligentsia often gathered in the house of Clarina Maffei, an ardent patriot of Italy. He strikes up a friendship with Klarina, which lasted for many years until her death. On the verses of Clarina's husband, Andrea Maffei, the composer wrote two romances, and Andrea was also the author of the libretto of the opera The Robbers based on Schiller's drama.
Scandals, masterpieces and "Viva, Verdi!"
The next decade after crazy success "Nabucco" writes a lot, fighting censorship in art, imposed by the Austrians. The poem "Giselda" by the outstanding Italian poet Torquato Tasso Grossi became the basis for the opera "Lombards in the First Crusade". Just as in "Nabucco" Biblical Jews meant modern Italians, in "Lombards" Crusaders meant the patriots of modern Italy.
The fight against censorship was not the only scandal in which the composer was involved. In the late 40s, he began a close relationship with Giuseppina Strepponi, a singer (soprano) who was the leading performer in all the composer's operas, starting with "Nabucco". Civil marriage was an incredible scandal at the time for many. Having lived together for more than 10 years, Strepponi finally got married in 1857. When Giuseppina decided to end her career as a singer, Verdi, following the example of Gioacchino Rossini, decided to end his career as a composer. He was rich, famous and happy in love. It is not known for certain, but perhaps it was Giuseppina who convinced him to continue writing music. During a happy romantic relationship with Giuseppina, Verdi created "Rigoletto"- one of his most perfect masterpieces. The libretto was based on Hugo's play "The King Amuses himself". The libretto of the opera was rewritten many times due to censorship, which infuriated the composer, he threatened to quit work on the opera altogether. Nevertheless, the opera was completed and was a huge success. There is even an opinion that "Rigoletto" is the best opera ever written. Definitely, "Rigoletto" is the best opera ever written. Inexpressibly beautiful melodies, passages of heavenly beauty, countless arias and ensembles follow each other, comic and tragic merge together, incredible passions boil at this celebration of musical genius.
"Rigoletto" marked the beginning of a new era in the work of Verdi. He creates one masterpiece after another. "La Traviata"(libretto based on the play by Alexandre Dumas son 
"The Lady of the Camellias") "Sicilian Supper", "Troubadour", "Masquerade Ball", "Force of Destiny" "Macbeth"(Second edition) - just some of them.
By this point, the composer has become so famous that a letter with only his name "D. Verdi" on the envelope could reach the addressee. Verdi's delightful music alone was enough to make him a real star of the century, but it was his unbending national pride that made him a real icon for all Italians, not only in the musical world, but also in the political one. At the end of each performance of his operas, the theater shuddered from the cries of the audience "Viva, Verdi!" ( "Long live Verdi!") And it was not just admiration for the composer's talent, and not only wishes for good health. "Viva, Verdi!" became the unspoken code of the anti-Austrian movement growing among the Italians. What they were actually chanting was "Viva, V.E.R.D.I", which was an acronym for "Vittorio Emanuel, King of Italy".
Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner
One of the last great operas, he was commissioned by the Egyptian government. By the opening of the Suez Canal, it was planned to build a theater in Cairo, and the composer was approached with a proposal to write an opera on an Egyptian theme. At first he refused, hoping that another composer would agree to take on this work. But when he found out that Richard Wagner would receive the order, he decided to accept the order.
performance of "Requiem"
Surprisingly, Verdi and Wagner always disliked each other and were considered competitors. Both composers were born in the same year, each of them is the leader of his own opera school in his country. They never met in their entire lives, while the Italian’s surviving comments about the great German and his music are critical and unfriendly (“He always chooses, completely in vain, the untrodden path, trying to fly where a normal person would just go on foot, achieving much better results "). However, upon learning that Richard Wagner had died, Gesuppe Verdi said, "How sad! This name left a huge mark in the history of art. Well-known is one statement by Wagner, referring to the music of the great Italian. After listening "Requiem", usually eloquent and generous with (unflattering) comments towards many other composers, Wagner said, "It's better not to say anything."
"A Period of Silence" by Giuseppe Verdi
The death of another great Italian composer - Rossini - caused a short break in Verdi's operatic work. He worked on part of the requiem dedicated to Rossini, which premiered in May 1874. After a rather long "period of silence", several more operas come out from the composer's pen, "Othello" and his last opera "Falstaff", which premiered in 1893. "Falstaff" on the stages of opera houses, the great vompositor retires to a house in the village, where, together with Giuseppina, they spend 4 quiet happy years together. After the death of his wife, shocked by the loss, he could not recover: “... My name smells of the era of mummies. I myself dry up when I just mumble this name to myself, ”he admitted sadly. He survived Dzuzheppin by 4 years and died of 
extensive paralysis in 1901 at the age of 88.
The Italians did not just mourn the death of the great composer. They mourned the loss of a symbol representing all of Italy. Two thousand people came to say goodbye to the composer, not counting the 800 people who performed "Va pensiero" ("Reflection"), chorus from the opera "Nabucco".
He was the first composer who selected the plot for the libretto in accordance with the peculiarities of his compositional talent. And the main feature of his talent was the dramatic component, so he was attracted by scenes rich in drama, he was looking for characters in which passions boil. Working closely with the librettists, the composer removed "unnecessary" details and "superfluous" characters from the plot. For many years, the composer's operas have confidently occupied the positions of the top twenty. If someone had fears that over time the great Italian would be forgotten, now there is no doubt that this will not happen. The masterpieces he wrote are the basis of any opera repertoire a century and a half after they were written. viva, Verdi!!
DATA
He was able to extract music from any sounds. He always carried a music notebook with him, where he wrote down everything he encountered during the day. The cries of the ice cream seller, the cries of the boatman for a ride, 
children's crying, swearing of builders - the composer was able to extract a musical theme from everything. He once wrote a fugue inspired by a senator's temperamental speech.
When the nineteen-year-old came to the conductor of the Milan Conservatory, he received an unconditional refusal: “Leave the thought of the conservatory. And if you really want to make music, look for some private teacher among the city musicians ... ”That was in 1832, and after a few decades the Milan Conservatory considered it an honor to be called the name of the “untalented” musician once rejected by it.
“Applause is an integral part of some types of music,” noted. “They should be included in the score.”
In Milan, opposite the famous La Scala theater, there is a tavern, a favorite place for people of art. A bottle of champagne has been stored there for many years under glass, which is intended for those who can consistently and clearly retell the content of the opera in their own words. "Troubadour".
Updated: April 13, 2019 by: Elena
Giuseppe Verdi
Years of life: 1813 - 1901
The work of Giuseppe Verdi is the culmination of the development of Italian music in the 19th century. His creative activity, connected primarily with the genre of opera, spanned more than half a century: the first opera (“Oberto, Count Bonifacio”) was written by him at the age of 26, the penultimate (“Othello”) - at 74, the last ( "Falstaff") - at 80 (!) years old. In total, taking into account six new editions of previously written works, he created 32 operas, which still make up the main repertory fund of theaters around the world.
Verdi's life path coincided with a turning point in Italian history. It was heroic era of the Risorgimento- the era of the struggle of Italians for a free and indivisible Italy. Verdi was an active participant in this heroic struggle; he drew his inspiration from its drama. It is no coincidence that contemporaries so often called the composer "the musical Garibaldi", "the maestro of the Italian revolution".
Operas of the 40s
Already in the first operas by Verdi, created by him in the 40s, the national liberation ideas so relevant to the Italian public of the 19th century were embodied: "Nabucco", "Lombards", "Ernani", "Jeanne d'Arc", "Atilla" , "The Battle of Legnano", "Robbers", "Macbeth" (Verdi's first Shakespearean opera), etc. - all of them are based on heroic-patriotic stories, glorify freedom fighters, each of them contains a direct political allusion to the social situation in Italy, fighting against the Austrian oppression. The performances of these operas evoked an explosion of patriotic feelings in the Italian listener, poured into political demonstrations, that is, they became events of political significance. The melodies of opera choirs composed by Verdi acquired the significance of revolutionary songs and were sung throughout the country.
Operas of the 1940s are not without flaws:
- intricacy of the libretto;
- lack of bright, embossed solo characteristics;
- the subordinate role of the orchestra;
- inexpressiveness of recitatives.
However, the listeners willingly forgave these shortcomings for their sincerity, heroic-patriotic pathos and consonance with their own thoughts and feelings.
The last opera of the 40s - "Louise Miller" based on Schiller's drama "Deceit and Love" - opened a new stage in the work of Verdi. The composer first turned to a new topic for himself - topic social inequality, which worried many artists of the second half of the 19th century, representatives critical realism. In place of heroic stories comes personal drama due to social reasons. Verdi shows how an unjust social structure breaks human destinies. At the same time, poor, disenfranchised people turn out to be much nobler, spiritually richer than representatives of the “high society”.
Operas of the 50s - 60s
The theme of social injustice, coming from "Louise Miller", was developed in the famous opera triad of the early 50s -, "Troubadour", (both 1853). All three operas tell about the suffering and death of socially disadvantaged people, despised by "society": a court jester, a poor gypsy, a fallen woman. The creation of these works speaks of the increased skill of Verdi as a playwright. Compared to the composer's early operas, this is a huge step forward:
- the psychological principle is enhanced, associated with the disclosure of bright, extraordinary human characters;
- the contrasts reflecting vital contradictions become aggravated;
- traditional operatic forms are interpreted in an innovative way (many arias, ensembles turn into freely organized scenes);
- in vocal parts the role of recitation increases;
- the role of the orchestra grows.
Later, in operas created in the second half of the 50s ( "Sicilian Vespers" - for the Paris Opera, "Simon Boccanegra", "Un ballo in masquerade") and in the 60s "Force of Destiny" - commissioned by the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater and "Don Carlos" - for the Paris Opera), Verdi again returns to historical, revolutionary and patriotic themes. However, now the socio-political events are inextricably linked with the personal drama of the heroes, and the pathos of the struggle, bright mass scenes are combined with subtle psychologism. The best of these works is the opera Don Carlos, which exposes the terrible essence of the Catholic reaction. It is based on a historical plot, borrowed from the drama of the same name by Schiller. The events unfold in Spain during the reign of the despotic King Philip II, betraying his own son into the hands of the Inquisition. By making the oppressed Flemish people one of the main characters of the work, Verdi showed heroic resistance to violence and tyranny. This tyrannical pathos of Don Carlos, consonant with the political events in Italy, largely prepared Aida.
Late period of creativity (1870s - 1890s)
Created in 1871 by order of the Egyptian government, it opens late period in the work of Verdi. This period also includes such peak creations of the composer as musical drama "Othello" and comic opera "Falstaff" (both after Shakespeare to a libretto by Arrigo Boito). These three operas combined the best features of the composer's style:
- deep psychological analysis of human characters;
- bright, exciting display of conflict clashes;
- humanism, aimed at exposing evil and injustice;
- spectacular entertainment, theatricality;
- democratic intelligibility of the musical language, based on the traditions of Italian folk songwriting.
Those. quite late: Verdi, who grew up in the countryside, did not immediately find himself in an environment where his abilities could be fully revealed. His youth was spent in the small provincial town of Busetto; an attempt to enter the Milan Conservatory ended in failure (although the time spent in Milan was not in vain - Verdi privately studied with the conductor of the La Scala theater in Milan, Lavigna).
After the triumph of Aida, Verdi said that he considered his work as an opera composer completed and, indeed, he had not written operas for 16 years. This is largely due to the dominance of Wagnerianism in the musical life of Italy.
Giuseppe Verdi - (full name Giuseppe Fortunato Francesco) - Italian composer. Master of the operatic genre, who created high examples of psychological musical drama.
Operas: Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore, La traviata (both 1853), Un ballo in maschera (1859), The Force of Destiny (for the Petersburg Theater, 1861), Don Carlos (1867), Aida (1870), Othello (1886), Falstaff (1892), Requiem (1874).
Giuseppe Verdi was born October 10, 1813, Le Roncole, near Busseto, Duchy of Parma. He died on January 27, 1901, in Milan. Libra.
In art, as in love, one must first of all be frank.
Verdi Giuseppe
Giuseppe's childhood
Giuseppe Verdi was born in the remote Italian village of Le Roncole in northern Lombardy into a peasant family. An extraordinary musical talent and a passionate desire to make music appeared in the child very early. Until the age of 10, Giuseppe studied in his native village, then in the town of Busseto. Acquaintance with the merchant and music lover Barezzi helped to obtain a city scholarship to continue his musical education in Milan.
The shock of the thirties
However, Giuseppe Verdi was not accepted into the conservatory. He studied music privately with the teacher Lavigne, thanks to whom he attended La Scala performances for free. In 1836 he married his beloved Margherita Barezzi, the daughter of his patron, from whom he had a daughter and a son.
You can take the whole world for yourself, but leave Italy to me.
Verdi Giuseppe
A happy chance helped to get an order for the opera Lord Hamilton, or Rochester, which was successfully staged in 1838 at La Scala under the title Oberto, Count Bonifacio. In the same year, 3 vocal compositions by Verdi were published. But the first creative successes coincided with a number of tragic events in his personal life: in less than two years (1838-1840) his daughter, son and wife die. D. Verdi is left alone, and the comic opera The King for an Hour, or the Imaginary Stanislav, composed at that time by order, fails. Shocked by the tragedy, Verdi writes: "I ... decided never to compose again."
Way out of the crisis. First triumph
Giuseppe Verdi was brought out of a severe spiritual crisis by his work on the opera Nebuchadnezzar (Italian name is Nabucco).
The opera, staged in 1842, was a huge success, helped by excellent performers (one of the main roles was sung by Giuseppina Strepponi, who later became Verdi's wife). Success inspired the composer, each year brought new compositions. In the 1840s, he created 13 operas, including Hernani, Macbeth, Louise Miller (based on F. Schiller's drama "Deceit and Love"), etc. And if the opera Nabucco made Giuseppe Verdi popular in Italy, then already "Ernani" brought him European fame. Many of the compositions written then are still staged on the opera stages of the world today.
The works of the 1840s belong to the historical-heroic genre. They are distinguished by impressive mass scenes, heroic choirs, permeated with courageous marching rhythms. The characteristics of the characters are dominated by the expression of not so much temperament as emotions. Here Verdi creatively develops the achievements of his predecessors Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti. But in individual works ("Macbeth", "Louise Miller"), the features of the composer's own, unique style, an outstanding opera reformer, ripen.
In 1847, Giuseppe Verdi made his first trip abroad. In Paris, he becomes close to J. Strepponi. Her idea of living in the countryside, doing art in the bosom of nature, led, upon her return to Italy, to the purchase of a plot of land and the creation of the estate of Sant'Agata.
"Tristar". "Don Carlos"
In 1851, Rigoletto appeared (based on Victor Hugo's drama The King Amuses himself), and in 1853, Il trovatore and La Traviata (based on A. Dumas's play The Lady of the Camellias), which made up the composer's famous tri-stardom. In these works, Verdi departs from heroic themes and images, ordinary people become his heroes: a jester, a gypsy, a half-light woman. Giuseppe seeks not only to show feelings, but also to reveal the characters' characters. The melodic language is marked by organic links with the Italian folk song.
In operas of the 1850s and 60s. Giuseppe Verdi turns to the historical-heroic genre. During this period, the operas Sicilian Vespers (staged in Paris in 1854), Simon Boccanegra (1875), Un ballo in maschera (1859), The Force of Fate, which was written by order of the Mariinsky Theater, were created; in connection with its production, Verdi visited Russia twice in 1861 and 1862. By order of the Paris Opera, Don Carlos (1867) was written.
New rise
In 1868 the Egyptian government approached the composer with a proposal to write an opera for the opening of a new theater in Cairo. D. Verdi refused. Negotiations continued for two years, and only the scenario of the Egyptologist Mariett Bey, based on an ancient Egyptian legend, changed the composer's decision. The opera "Aida" became one of his most perfect innovative creations. It is marked by the brilliance of dramatic mastery, melodic richness, mastery of the orchestra.
The death of the writer and patriot of Italy Alessandro Manzoni caused the creation of "Requiem" - a magnificent creation of the sixty-year-old maestro (1873-1874).
For eight years (1879-1887) the composer worked on the opera Othello. The premiere, held in February 1887, resulted in a national celebration. In the year of his eightieth birthday, Giuseppe Verdi creates another brilliant creation - "Falstaff" (1893, based on the play by W. Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor"), in which he reformed Italian comic opera based on the principles of musical drama. "Falstaff" is distinguished by the novelty of dramaturgy, built on detailed scenes, melodic inventiveness, bold and refined harmonies.
In the last years of his life, Giuseppe Verdi wrote works for choir and orchestra, which he combined in 1897 into the Four Sacred Pieces cycle. In January 1901, he was paralyzed and a week later, on January 27, he died. The basis of Verdi's creative heritage was 26 operas, many of which are included in the world musical treasury.
Giuseppe Verdi also wrote two choirs, a string quartet, works of church and chamber vocal music. Since 1961, the vocal competition "Verdi Voices" has been held in Busseto.
Giuseppe Verdi - quotes
No need to hesitate, no need to give in when it comes to art. 
In art, as in love, one must first of all be frank.
In music, as in love, you must first of all be sincere.
Giuseppe Verdi is one of the famous Italian composers. His work is a huge contribution to the development of operatic art, it became the culminating moment in the development of the Italian opera of the nineteenth century.
short biography
Giuseppe Verdi (full name Giuseppe Fortunio Francesco) was born on October 10, 1813 in the small Italian village of Le Roncole, which is located in the northern part of Lombardy. At that time, this area was part of the First French Empire, thus, according to documents, the birthplace of Verdi is France. An interesting fact is that in the same year Richard Wagner was born, who in the future became the main rival of Verdi and one of the leading composers of the German opera school.
The early biography of Giuseppe Verdi is interesting because the parents of the future great composer were not musicians. His father kept a tavern, and his mother was a spinner. The family lived very poorly, so Verdi's childhood turned out to be difficult. The first step in introducing music was the help of the boy in the village church. With Pietro Baistrocchi, the boy learned to play the organ and to read music. Parents were happy with their son's craving for music and even gave him a spinet - a small stringed instrument similar to a harpsichord. His composer kept until the end of his life.
Meeting with Barezzi
The next step in the boy's musical career was a meeting with Antonio Barezzi, a wealthy merchant and music lover who lived in the nearby city of Busseto. He drew attention to the gifted boy and believed that Giuseppe would not become an innkeeper or a village organist in the future. He believed that he had a great future. At the age of ten, Verdi, on the advice of Antonio Barezzi, moved to Busseto, where he continued his studies. However, his life became even more difficult. On Sundays, Verdi would return to Le Roncole, where he still played the organ during Mass. During these years he got a teacher compositions - Fernando Provezi, who was the director of the Philharmonic Society in the city of Busseto. At the same time, young Giuseppe is fond of the classics of world literature: Schiller, Dante, Goethe, Shakespeare. Probably, this is where the roots of his work come from.
Milan
The biography of Giuseppe Verdi contains information about numerous moves. At the age of eighteen, he goes to Milan to continue his education. There he tries to to the conservatory he is not accepted due to the insufficiently high level of piano playing. An interesting fact: now this conservatory bears the name of Verdi. However, Giuseppe does not despair, he learns counterpoint from a private teacher, attending opera performances and various concerts in parallel. He begins to think about a career as a composer for the theater, in which he is more and more convinced by communication with the Milanese society.
Giuseppe Verdi cannot be called a short biography, because he went a very long way before becoming famous. In 1830 Verdi returned to Busseto. Antonio Barezzi has not lost faith in his protege, so he helps him arrange his first public performance. Then Giuseppe becomes a music teacher for Barezzi's daughter, Margherita. Young people fall in love with each other and in 1836 they get married. The couple is expecting a daughter soon. Virginia Maria Luisa and son Icilio Romano, however both children die in infancy. Verdi is currently working on his first opera. In 1840, the composer's wife also died of encephalitis.
Failure and success
Both the biography and the work of Giuseppe Verdi can be briefly described as a bright series of ups and downs. The staging of the composer's first opera (Oberto, Count Bonifacio) in Milan was quite successful, after which the impresario of La Scala, Bartolomeo Merelli, signed a contract with Giuseppe for two operas. On time, he wrote "King for an Hour" and "Nabucco" ("Nevuchadnezzar"). However, the opera King for an Hour failed miserably, and Verdi, who at this time lost his wife and children, wanted to end his career as an opera composer. However, the second opera, Nabucco, which premiered on March 9, 1842, was a great success. A new stage begins in the life of Giuseppe Verdi, because it was after the premiere of "Nabucco" that he gained an excellent reputation. Over the next year, the opera was staged sixty-five times, since then to this day it has not gone down stages of the best opera houses around the world. The next few operas were also successful in Italy.
In 1847, the opera Lombards is staged at the Paris Opera. It was renamed "Jerusalem", and the composer also had to rework his work somewhat, including replacing the Italian characters with the French. The work was his first work in the grand opera style.
Scandalous relationship
One of the highlights in the biography of Giuseppe Verdi is an affair with the singer Giuseppina Strepponi. Verdi was thirty-eight years old, and Giuseppina was ending her career. They entered into a legal marriage only after eleven years, and all these years their cohabitation was condemned.
When Giuseppina stopped performing, Verdi decided to end his career with her (perhaps he followed the example of Gioacchino Rossini in this). For the first time in many years, he was happy: famous, in love, and besides, wealthy. At this moment, the biography and work of Giuseppe Verdi are closely intertwined. It was probably Giuseppina who convinced him to continue his career. Possibly under the influence of the romantic fleur, from which geniuses so often draw inspiration, he creates his first masterpiece - the opera "Rigoletto".
The libretto was rewritten several times due to inconsistency with censorship, and Verdi tried to quit working on it, but finished the work, and the very first production, which took place in 1851 in Venice, was an incredible success. Until now, "Rigoletto" is considered, perhaps, one of the best operas ever written. Verdi's artistic talent was revealed in full force in this work: beautiful melodies, ensembles and arias are scattered throughout the score, which later become part of the classical opera repertoire, go one after another, tragedy and comedy merge together.
Continuing a career
Two years later, the list of famous works by Giuseppe Verdi is replenished with another masterpiece. It becomes the opera "La Traviata", the libretto of which was created based on the play "The Lady of the Camellias" by Alexandre Dumas son.
Several more operas followed. One of them is the "Sicilian Supper", constantly performed today, Verdi wrote it by order of the Paris Opera. These are also the works "Troubadour", "Under Ball-in-Masquerade", "Force of Destiny" (ordered from Russia). "Macbeth" has undergone changes, was released in the second edition.
In 1869, the composer wrote Libera Me - part of the "Requiem" in memory of Rossini, and in 1974, Giuseppe Verdi's collection of musical works was replenished with his own requiem for the death of the writer Alessandro Manzoni, whose admirer was the composer.
One of Verdi's last great operas is Aida. The composer received an order to write it from the Egyptian government, which thus wanted to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, and at first Verdi refused. However, later, while visiting Paris, he again received the same offer, but through du Locle, a librettist and impresario. This time the composer decided to get acquainted with the script, and after that he accepted the offer.
Rivals
The biography of Giuseppe Verdi will not be complete without mentioning the rivalry with Wagner. Each of them was the leader of the opera school of their country, all their lives they competed and disliked each other, although they never met. Verdi's comments on his opponent's music were few and unflattering. He said that Wagner in vain chooses untrodden paths, tries to "fly" where it is more productive for a person to walk. However, upon learning of the death of Wagner, he was saddened, because he believed that this composer left a huge mark on the history of music. From Wagner's side, only one statement about Verdi is known. The great German composer, usually generous in his criticism of other maestros, after listening to Verdi's Requiem, said that it was better not to say anything.
Last years
For the last twelve, Verdi worked very little, mostly editing his early works. After the death of Richard Wagner, Verdi writes the opera Othello based on Shakespeare's play. Its premiere took place in Milan in 1887. The work is unusual in that it does not have the division into recitatives and arias traditional for the Italian opera school - here one can feel the influence of Wagner's operatic reform. Again, under the influence of this reform, later works by Verdi became more recitative, which gave the opera the effect of realism, although fans of traditional opera sometimes scared away.
Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, whose libretto was based on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, also became unusual. The manner of "through development" can be traced here, thus, the work with a brilliantly written score gravitates much more to Wagner's "Meistersinger" than to the comic operas of Mozart and Rossini. Elusive and sparkling melodies allow the development of the plot not to linger, which creates the effect of confusion, which is so close to the spirit of Shakespearean comedy itself. The opera ends with a seven-voice fugue in which Verdi demonstrates his mastery of counterpoint.
Death of a great composer
On January 21, 1901, Verdi suffered a stroke. At this time he was in a hotel in Milan. The composer was paralyzed, but he read the scores of Puccini's Tosca and La bohème, Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades and Loncavallo's Pagliacci, but what he thought of them remained unknown. Six days later, on January 27, the great Italian composer passed away. He was buried in Milan at the Monumental Cemetery, but a month later the body was reburied at the Rest House for retired musicians, the founder of which was Verdi.
Stylistics
Almost every composer is influenced by his colleagues or predecessors. The music of Giuseppe Verdi is no exception. His early work shows the influence of Rossini, Bellini, Meyerbeer and especially Donizetti. In the last two operas (Falstaff and Othello), the influence of his main opponent - Richard Wagner. Many contemporaries were influenced by Gounod, but Verdi did not borrow anything from the great Frenchman, whom many considered the greatest creator of the era. In the opera "Aida" there are passages in which an acquaintance with the work of Mikhail Glinka can be traced.
Orchestra and solo parts
The works of Giuseppe Verdi sometimes have not too complex orchestration. It is he who is credited with the phrase that the orchestra is a big guitar. The composer relied on his melodic gift to describe the feelings and emotions of the characters. Often, during the sound of solo vocal parts, the orchestration is very ascetic, the whole orchestra becomes one accompanying instrument. Some critics believed that this was the result of the lack of education of the composer himself, however, after listening to many of his works, we can easily be convinced of the opposite. Verdi's work is also characterized by certain innovations that other composers have never borrowed because of their strong recognizability (for example, strings flying up the chromatic scale).
