Giuseppe Verdi, the greatest of the Italian opera composers, was born in
Le Roncole, Italy, on October 10, 1813. He demonstrated such
unmistakable gifts for music in his boyhood that his townspeople created
a fund to send him to the Milan Conservatory. In 1832 he appeared in
Milan. Finding he was too old to gain admission to the Conservatory, he
studied composition privately with Vincenzo Lavigna. For several years
Verdi lived in Busseto where he conducted the Philharmonic Society and
wrote his first opera, _Oberto_, produced in Milan in 1839. Now settled
in Milan, he continued writing operas, achieving his first major success
with _Nabucco_ in 1842. During the next eight years he solidified his
position as one of Italy’s best loved opera composers with several
important works among which were _Ernani_ (1844), _Macbeth_ (1847) and
_Luisa Miller_ (1849). A new era began for Verdi in 1851 with
_Rigoletto_, an era in which he became Italy’s greatest master of opera,
and one of the foremost in the world. _Il Trovatore_ and _La Traviata_
came in 1853, to be followed by _I Vespri Siciliani_ (1855), _Simone
Boccanegra_ (1857), _Un ballo in maschera_ (1859), _La Forza del
destino_ (1862), and _Aida_ (1871). Now a man of considerable wealth (as
well as fame), Verdi bought a farm in Sant’ Agata where he henceforth
spent his summers; after the completion of _Aida_, he lived there most
of the time in comparative seclusion, tending to his crops, gardens, and
live stock. When Cavour initiated the first Italian parliament, Verdi
was elected deputy. But Verdi never liked politics, and soon withdrew
from the political arena; however, in 1874, he accepted the honorary
appointment of Senator from the King.
As a composer, Verdi remained silent for about fifteen years after
_Aida_. By the time the world became reconciled to the fact that Verdi’s
life work was over, he emerged from this long period of withdrawal to
produce two operas now generally regarded as his crowning achievements:
_Otello_ (1887) and _Falstaff_ (1893). During the last years of his
life, Verdi lived in a Milan hotel. His sight and hearing began to
deteriorate, and just before his death—in Milan on January 27, 1901—he
suffered a paralytic stroke. His death was mourned by the entire nation.
A quarter of a million mourners crowded the streets to watch his bier
pass for its burial in the oratory of the Musicians Home in
Milan—accompanied by the stately music of a chorus from _Nabucco_,
conducted by Toscanini.
Verdi’s profound knowledge of the theater and his strong dramatic sense,
combined with his virtually incomparable Italian lyricism, made him one
of the greatest composers for the musical theater of all time. But it is
his lyricism—with all its infinite charm and variety—that makes so much
of his writing so popular to so many in such widely scattered areas of
the world. Selections from his most famous operas are favorites even
with many who have never seen them on the stage, because their emotional
appeal is inescapable.
_Aida_ is an opera filled not only with some of the most wonderful
melodies to be found in Italian opera but also with scenes of pomp,
ceremony, with exotic attractions, and with episodes dynamic with
dramatic interest. This was the opera that brought Verdi’s second
creative period to a rich culmination; and it is unquestionably one of
the composer’s masterworks. He wrote it on a commission from the
Egyptian Khedive for ceremonies commemorating the opening of the Suez
Canal. However, Verdi took so long to complete his opera that it was not
performed in Cairo until about two years after the canal had been
opened, on December 24, 1871. The libretto—by Antonio Ghislanzoni—was
based on a plot by Mariette Bey. Radames, captain of the Egyptian guard,
is in love with Aida, the Ethiopian slave of Amneris. The latter,
daughter of the King of Egypt, is herself in love with Radames. When an
invading Ethiopian force comes to threaten Egypt, Radames becomes the
commander of the army and proves himself a hero. Lavish festivities and
ceremonies celebrate his victorious return, during which the king of
Egypt offers him the hand of Amneris as reward. But Radames is still in
love with Aida. Since Aida is actually the daughter of the Ethiopian
king, she manages to extract from Radames the secret maneuvers of the
Egyptian army, information enabling the Ethiopian army to destroy the
Egyptians. For this treachery, Radames is buried alive; and Aida, still
in love with him, comes within his tomb to die with him.
The brief overture opens with a tender melody in violins suggesting
Aida. After an effective development we hear a somber and brooding
motive of the Priests of Isis, which soon receives contrapuntal
treatment. The Aida motive is dramatized, brought to a magnificent
climax, then allowed to subside.
The Ballet Music is famous for its brilliant harmonic and orchestral
colors, exotic melodies, and pulsating rhythms. In Act 2, Scene 1 there
takes place the _Dance of the Moorish Slaves_, an oriental dance
performed before Amneris by the Moorish boys. The _Ballabile_ is another
oriental dance which appears in Act 2, Scene 2, performed by the dancing
girls during the celebration attending the arrival of the triumphant
Egyptian army headed by Radames. In this scene there is also heard the
stirring strains of the _Grand March_. This march begins softly but soon
gathers its strength and erupts with full force as the king, his
attendants, the Priests, the standard bearers, Amneris and her slaves
appear in a brilliant procession. The people raise a cry of praise to
the king and their Gods in “_Gloria all’ Egitto_.” After this comes the
dramatic march music to which the Egyptian troops, with Radames at their
head, enter triumphantly into the square and file proudly before their
king.
Of the vocal excerpts the most famous is undoubtedly Radames’ ecstatic
song of love to Aida in the first act, first scene, “_Celeste Aida_,”
surely one of the most famous tenor arias in all opera. Two principal
arias for soprano are by Aida. The first is her exultant prayer that
Radames come back victorious from the war, “_Ritorna vincitor_” in Act
1, Scene 1; the other, “_O Patria mia_,” in Act 3, is her poignant
recollection of her beloved homeland in Ethiopia. Amneris’ moving aria
in Act 2, Scene 1, “_Vieni amor mio_” where she thinks about her beloved
Radames, and the concluding scene of the opera in which Radames and Aida
bid the world farewell, “_O terra, addio_” are also famous.
_La Forza del destino_ (_The Force of Destiny_) has a popular overture.
This opera was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia on November 10,
1862—libretto by Francesco Piave based on a play by the Duke de Riva.
Leonora, daughter of the Marquis of Calatrava, is in love with Don
Alvaro, a nobleman of Inca origin. When they plan elopement, Leonora’s
father intervenes and is accidentally killed in the ensuing brawl.
Leonora’s brother, Don Carlo, swears to avenge this death by killing Don
Alvaro. On the field of battle, Don Alvaro saves Don Carlo’s life. Not
recognizing Don Alvaro as his sworn enemy, Don Carlo pledges eternal
friendship; but upon discovering Don Alvaro’s true identity, he
challenges him to a duel in which Don Carlo is wounded. Aware that he
has brought doom to two people closest and dearest to his beloved
Leonora, Don Alvaro seeks sanctuary in a monastery where many years
later he is found by Don Carlo. In the sword duel that follows, Don
Alvaro kills Don Carlo, whose last act is to plunge a fatal knife into
his sister’s heart.
A trumpet blast, creating an ominous air of doom, opens the overture. An
air in a minor key then leads to a gentle song for strings; this is
Leonora’s prayer for help and protection to the Virgin in the second
scene of the second act, “_Madre pietosa_.” A light pastoral tune,
depicting the Italian countryside in the third act, is now heard.
Leonora’s song of prayer is now forcefully repeated by the full
orchestra, after which the overture ends robustly.
_Rigoletto_, introduced in Venice on March 11, 1851, is based on the
Victor Hugo play, _Le Roi s’amuse_ adapted by Francesco Piave. Rigoletto
is the hunchbacked jester to the Duke of Mantua who jealously guards his
daughter, Gilda, from the world outside their home. Disguised as a
student, the Duke woos Gilda and wins her love. Since the Duke’s
courtiers hate the jester, they conspire to abduct Gilda and bring her
to the ducal court to become the Duke’s mistress. Distraught at this
turn of affairs, the jester vows to kill the Duke and hires a
professional assassin to perform this evil deed. But since his own
sister loves the Duke, the assassin decides to spare him and to kill a
stranger instead. The stranger proves to be none other than Gilda,
disguised as a man for a projected flight to Verona. The body is placed
in a sack for delivery to Rigoletto who, before he can get rid of the
body, discovers that it is that of his beloved daughter.
The following are the best loved and most widely performed excerpts from
this tuneful opera: the Ballata, “_Questa o quella_” from the first act
in which the Duke flippantly talks of love and his many conquests; the
graceful Minuet to which the courtiers dance during a party at the Ducal
palace in the same act; Gilda’s famous coloratura aria, “_Caro nome_”
from the second act, in which she dreams about the “student” with whom
she has fallen in love; the light and capricious aria of the Duke, “_La
donna è mobile_” from the third act, in which the Duke mockingly
comments on fickle womanhood, and one of the most celebrated tenor arias
in the repertory; the quartet “_Bella figlia dell’ amore_”—as celebrated
an ensemble number as “_La donna è mobile_” is as an aria—in which each
of the four principal characters of the opera (Gilda, Rigoletto, the
Duke, and Maddalena) speaks of his or her inner turmoil, doubts, and
hatreds in the third act.
_La Traviata_ (_The Lost One_) is Francesco Maria Piave’s adaptation of
Alexandre Dumas’ celebrated romance, _La Dame aux camélias_. Its central
theme is the tragic tale of the courtesan, Violetta, who falls in love
with and is loved by Alfredo Germont. After they live together for a
blissful period, Alfredo’s father is instrumental in breaking up the
affair by convincing Violetta she must give up her lover for his own
good. She does so by feigning she has grown tired of him. Only too late
does Alfredo learn the truth; when he returns to Violetta, she is dying
of tuberculosis.
The première of _La Traviata_ in Venice on March 6, 1853 was a dismal
failure. The public reacted unfavorably to a play it regarded immoral,
and to the sight of a healthy prima donna seemingly wasting away with
tuberculosis; it also resented the fact that the opera was given in
contemporary dress. At a revival, a year later in Venice, the opera was
performed in costume and settings of an earlier period. Profiting
further from a carefully prepared presentation, the opera now cast a
spell on its audience. From this point on, _La Traviata_ went on to
conquer the opera world to become one of the most popular operas ever
written.
The orchestral preludes to the first and third act are celebrated. The
Prelude to Act 1 begins softly and slowly with a poignant melody
suggesting Violetta’s fatal sickness; this is followed by a broad, rich
song for the strings describing Violetta’s expression of love for
Alfredo. The Prelude to Act 3 also begins with the sad, slow melody
speaking of Violetta’s illness. The music then becomes expressive and
tender to point up the tragedy of her life; this prelude ends with a
succession of broken phrases as Violetta’s life slowly ebbs away.
The following are the principal vocal selections from _La Traviata_: the
opening drinking song, or Brindisi (“_Libiamo, libiamo_”); Violetta’s
world-famous aria, “_Ah, fors è lui_” in which she reveals her love for
Alfredo followed immediately by her determination to remain free and
pleasure-loving (“_Sempre libera_”) also in the first act; Alfredo’s
expression of joy that Violetta has come to live with him, “_De’ miei
bollenti spiriti_” and the elder Germont’s recollection of his happy
home in the Provence, “_Di Provenza il mar_” from the second act;
Violetta’s pathetic farewell to the world, “_Addio del passato_,” and
Alfredo’s promise to the dying Violetta to return together to their
happy home near Paris, “_Parigi, o cara_” from the fourth act.
_Il Trovatore_ (_The Troubadours_) is so full of familiar melodies that,
like a play of Shakespeare, it appears to be replete with “quotations.”
It was first performed in Rome on January 19, 1853. The libretto by
Salvatore Commarno, based on a play by Antonio Garcia Gutiérrez, is
complicated to a point of obscurity, and filled with coincidences and
improbabilities; but this did not prevent Verdi from creating one of his
most melodious scores, an inexhaustible reservoir of unforgettable arias
and ensemble numbers. The story involves Count di Luna in a frustrated
love affair with Leonora; his rival is Manrico, an officer of a rival
army with whom Leonora is in love. The gypsy Azucena convinces Manrico,
her foster son, that Count di Luna had been responsible for the death of
Manrico’s father, and incites him on to avenge that murder. Later in the
play, Azucena and Manrico are captured by Di Luna’s army. To help free
Manrico, Leonora promises to marry the Count. Rather than pay this
price, Leonora takes poison and dies at Manrico’s feet. Manrico is now
sentenced to be executed. After his death, Azucena, half-crazed, reveals
that Manrico is really Count di Luna’s half brother.
The long list of favorite selections from _Il Trovatore_ includes the
following: Manrico’s beautiful serenade to Leonora in Act 1, Scene 2,
“_Deserto sulla terra_”; Leonora’s poignant recollections of a
mysterious admirer in the second scene, “_Tacea la notte placida_”; the
ever popular _Anvil Chorus_ of the gypsies with which the second act
opens, “_Vedi! le fosche_”; Azucena’s stirring recollection of the time
long past when her mother had been burned as a witch, “_Stride la
vampa_,” and Count di Luna’s expression of love for Leonora, “_Il
balen_” also in the second act; in the third act, Manrico’s dramatic
aria, “_Di quella pira_” and the rousing soldier’s chorus of Manrico’s
troops, “_Squilli, echeggi la tromba guerriera_”; Leonora’s prayer for
her beloved Manrico “_D’amor sull’ ali rosee_” followed immediately by
the world-famous _Miserere_ (“_Ah, che la morte ognora_”), a choral
chant asking pity and salvation from the prisoners, all in the first
scene of the fourth act; and the poignant duet of Manrico and Azucena in
the final scene, a fervent, glowing hope that some day they can return
to their beloved mountain country in peace and love, “_Ai nostri
monti_.”
While _I Vespri siciliani_, or _Les Vêpres siciliennes_ (_Sicilian
Vespers_) is one of Verdi’s less familiar operas, its overture is one of
his most successful. The opera-libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles
Duveyrier—was first performed at the Paris Opéra on June 13, 1855. Its
setting is 13th-century Sicily where the peasants rise in revolt against
the occupying French. The overture is constructed from some basic
melodies from the opera. The first _Allegro_ theme speaks of the
massacre of the French garrison. A second melody—a beautiful lyrical
passage _pianissimo_ against tremolos—is taken from the farewell scene
of the hero and the heroine who are about to die.