Giuseppe Verdi
MUSIC HISTORY
Dramatic bel canto, appoggio and high notes: the core of the Italian repertoire worked in CALYP masterclasses, from Nabucco to Falstaff.
Source Jean Mislin · Musicologist, organist and choral conductor · teacher of Adeline Toniutti As part of Adeline Toniutti's research
Verdi: biography
Giuseppe Verdi (Busseto, 1813 - 27 January 1901) is the great master of Italian opera in the nineteenth century, exact contemporary of Wagner. Faithful to bel canto while enriching orchestra and drama, he gives singers a repertoire of appoggio, high notes and dramatic line: the heart of lyric work in CALYP masterclasses with Adeline Toniutti.
Youth, Barezzi, Milan and the “anni di galera”
Born in Busseto, Verdi learned the craft almost as a self-taught musician. The wealthy merchant Barezzi, amateur musician and patron, secured him a scholarship for Milan. Refused by the conservatory, he studied with Lavigna, conductor at La Scala. He married in 1836, but lost his wife and two children a few years later.
Then came years of intense work, the famous “anni di galera”, when he produced two or three operas a year under the demands of singers and impresarios. With the 1851-1853 trilogy his fame spread across Europe. Free of material worry, he chose librettos with greater care and often travelled to Paris with his second wife, the singer Strepponi.
Style: bel canto, theatre and orchestra
Unlike Wagner, Verdi does not compose from a philosophical system. Like him, he is a genius of Romanticism shown in his subjects: contemporary novels (Rigoletto after Victor Hugo's Le Roi s'amuse), legendary or semi-historical themes (Falstaff), patriotic exaltation (Nabucco, I Lombardi).
He had a sharp sense of theatre and spontaneous lyricism. Faithful to the Italian bel canto tradition, he gradually enriched the orchestra: at first still a kind of “enlarged guitar”, it became richer and more varied. Don Carlos was first written to a French text for the Paris Opéra, then revived in Italian.
From Nabucco to Falstaff: major works
Nabucco (1842) exalted patriotism and made Verdi a leading figure in the fight for Italy's liberation and unity. Then Macbeth (1847) and the great trilogy: Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore and La traviata (1853). La forza del destino (1862), Don Carlos (1867) and Aida (1871) widened his international reach.
After about fifteen years of silence, the final masterpieces show exceptional youthful temperament: Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893). Verdi devoted his last years to his land and to the rest home for musicians he founded, funded by all his royalties. He died on 27 January 1901.
La traviata: drama, Violetta and bel canto
La traviata (full title Violetta, ossia La Traviata) is a three-act opera to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, after Alexandre Dumas fils's La Dame aux camélias (1852). Premiere 6 March 1853 in Venice (La Fenice): a resounding failure; success only came with a revival the following year.
Francesco Maria Piave / Alexandre Dumas fils : Piave's libretto after Dumas fils' play (and novel) for Verdi's La Traviata.
Violetta (dramatic coloratura soprano) moves from virtuosity to passionate, almost morbid lyricism. The score shows Verdi at his best: dramatic effectiveness, harmonic and melodic novelty, a prelude that anticipates death and love. The work foreshadows verismo while avoiding the bad taste Verdi had known how to escape. For singers it is a school of , coloratura and emotional truth.
Timeline and key works
- 1813: born in Busseto.
- 1836: marriage; studies in Milan with Lavigna after the conservatory refused him.
- 1842: Nabucco, patriotic figure of Italian unity.
- 1851-1853: trilogy Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata.
- 1867-1871: Don Carlos, then Aida.
- 1887-1893: Otello, Falstaff.
- 1901: death on 27 January.
Heir to Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, Verdi places Romantic Italian opera at the centre of the century and prepares, without merging into it, the verismo of Puccini and his peers.
FAQ about Giuseppe Verdi
When was Verdi born and when did he die?
Verdi was born in Busseto in 1813 and died on 27 January 1901, after founding a rest home for musicians funded by his royalties.
What are Verdi's major works?
Among the most performed: Nabucco, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, Don Carlos, Aida, Otello and Falstaff.
Why did La traviata fail at its premiere?
On 6 March 1853 at La Fenice in Venice, the contemporary subject and the pamphlet against bourgeois vices caused scandal; success came with the revival the next year.
How does Verdi differ from Wagner?
Verdi stays faithful to bel canto and Italian theatre sense, without a philosophical system; Wagner develops endless melody and leitmotif. Both are Romantic geniuses of the nineteenth century.
Sources and quotations
Landmarks and quotations for further reading.
- Jean Mislin: musicologist, organist and choral conductor, teacher of Adeline Toniutti. Notes used within Adeline Toniutti's research.
- Francesco Maria Piave / Alexandre Dumas fils, La Dame aux camélias (1852) : Piave's libretto after Dumas fils' play (and novel) for Verdi's La Traviata.
GO FURTHER
In the music history cluster
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Sing Verdi with solid landmarks
Connect dramatic bel canto, appoggio and high notes with Adeline Toniutti's CALYP team.