Born in October 1813 in a village called Le Roncole, Giuseppe Fortunino Franceso Verdi became one of the most influential Italian opera composers of his time. Verdi was actually born a Frenchman, however, not an Italian, since at the time of his birth the village of Le Roncole belonged to the French Empire.
By the age of 7, Verdi began helping the local church organist. Verdi''s parents moved to the nearby town of Busseto while he was still a child, providing him with access to better education and the large library of the Jesuit school. He also began working with the organist in Busseto at age 12 and became his assistant in 1829.
At the age of 20, Verdi ventured to Milan to study, but did not get accepted into the conservatory. Instead, he studied with the former La Scala musician Vincenzo Lavigna and often attended the opera and several German music concerts.
When he returned to Busseto, he was passed over for the position of maestro di cappella but instead became the town music master thanks to the support of a local merchant named Antonio Barezzi. Verdi gave his first public performance at Barezzi''s home in 1830. He even went on to fall deeply in love with and marry Barezzi''s daughter, Margherita, in 1836.
Unfortunately, the match was fraught with hardship and short-lived: Margherita gave birth to two children, both of whom died in infancy, and she herself died in 1840. Verdi loved her deeply and was devastated by her loss.
Milan''s famous La Scala put on the production of Verdi''s first opera, "Oberto," and it achieved some success. Yet as he worked on his second opera, "Un giorno di regno," his wife and children died and the resulting opera flopped.
Verdi considered giving up music forever until his friend insisted that he write "Nabucco" in 1842. That opera made Verdi famous with its opening performance, and his reputation spread across Europe and the New World. Some say the libretto of that opera, especially the famous chorus of the Hebrew slaves, inspired Verdi to write music once again.
Giuseppe Verdi then entered the period that he later dubbed his "galley years." It began in 1844 and culminated with some of his best works in 1853. He performed in Paris, London and throughout Italy during this time, usually directing his operas in addition to composing them.
"Macbeth," written by Verdi in 1847, broke Italian opera conventions by not having a love story. For this reason, some critics consider it his most original and important opera. He followed this with "I Lombardi," later renamed "Jerusalem," which was his first work in the French Grand Opera style.
In 1851, Verdi created "Rigoletto" based on a play by Victor Hugo. Due to censorship restrictions, Verdi had to revise the libretto numerous times and almost gave up on it entirely. But at last he prevailed and the opera became a huge success.
"Rigoletto" also reflects a unique aspect of Verdi''s music. He combines several musical elements fluidly, switching from band music in the first scene to the Italian melody of the famous quartet "Bella figlia dell''amore" and even to chamber music in one duet.
Two of Verdi''s most famous works came from his "middle period" around 1853:
Many people today know more about "La Traviata" than they realize: It inspired the blockbuster film hit "Pretty Woman," albeit with a different ending, and is, in fact, the opera performed during the movie itself.
Of course any discussion of the great operas of Verdi must include "Aida." This opera actually sprang from Verdi''s long-standing animosity with Richard Wagner. When the Cairo Opera House commissioners first approached Verdi to request an opera to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, he turned them down. Only when they threatened to use Wagner instead of him did Verdi accept the commission.
In his later years, he composed two more magnificent works based on Shakespeare plays: the tragic "Othello" and the masterful comic opera "Falstaff," which was actually the first and only comic opera of his career.
In memory of Gioacchino Rossini, Verdi was asked to compose a section for a Requiem Mass in 1869. However, it was never actually performed during Verdi''s own lifetime. Five years later, Verdi took a part of this Rossini Requiem, known as "Libera Me," and reworked it to make it part of his Requiem Mass to honor the novelist and poet Alessandro Manzoni.
"Falstaff," first performed in 1893, became known not only as his one comic opera but also as his last opera. Verdi spent his final years in Milan, a rich and charitable man honored by many. He died Jan. 27, 1901, after suffering a stroke a week earlier. Approximately 28,000 people lined the streets of Milan for his funeral.
Today, Verdi remains one of the most popular composers of Italian opera, if not the most popular. Opera houses around the world continue perform his music as part of their standard repertoire.
Boynmick, Matt (February, 1996). Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). Retrieved January 13, 2008, from the Classical Music Pages Web site: http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/verdi.html.