"Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera. Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned Verdi to write an opera for performance to celebrate the opening of the Khedivial Opera House, paying him 150,000 francs, but the premiere was delayed because of the Siege of Paris (1870–71), during the Franco-Prussian War, when the scenery and costumes were stuck in the French capital, and Verdi's ""Rigoletto"" was performed instead. ""Aida"" eventually premiered in Cairo in late 1871. Contrary to popular belief, the opera was not written to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, for which Verdi"
"Les vêpres siciliennes Les vêpres siciliennes (""The Sicilian Vespers"") is a grand opera in five acts by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi set to a French libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier from their work ""Le duc d'Albe"", which was written in 1838. ""Les vêpres"" followed immediately after Verdi's three great mid-career masterpieces, ""Rigoletto"", ""Il trovatore"" and ""La traviata"" of 1850 to 1853 and was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 13 June 1855. Today the opera is performed both in the original French and sometimes in its post-1861 Italian version as I vespri siciliani . The"
"(1871), with three late masterpieces: his Requiem (1874), and the operas ""Otello"" (1887) and ""Falstaff"" (1893). His operas remain extremely popular, especially the three peaks of his 'middle period': ""Rigoletto, Il trovatore"" and ""La traviata"", and the 2013 bicentenary of his birth was widely celebrated in broadcasts and performances. Verdi, the first child of Carlo Giuseppe Verdi (1785–1867) and Luigia Uttini (1787–1851), was born at their home in Le Roncole, a village near Busseto, then in the Département Taro and within the borders of the First French Empire following the annexation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza in 1808."
"the theme song of the American Public Television Travel Show Smart Travels. Notes Cited sources Other sources Rigoletto Rigoletto () is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play ""Le roi s'amuse"" by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851. It is widely considered to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story"
"from merely a display of vocal fireworks, with Rossini's and Donizetti's works, to dramatic story-telling. Verdi's operas resonated with the growing spirit of Italian nationalism in the post-Napoleonic era, and he quickly became an icon of the patriotic movement for a unified Italy. In the early 1850s, Verdi produced his three most popular operas: ""Rigoletto"", ""Il trovatore"" and ""La traviata"". The first of these, ""Rigoletto"", proved the most daring and revolutionary. In it, Verdi blurs the distinction between the aria and recitative as it never before was, leading the opera to be ""an unending string of duets"". ""La traviata"" was"
"based on the Byron poem of 1814, ""The Corsair"". Verdi accepted Lumley's proposal and production was scheduled for the world premiere of the new opera in the summer of 1846. Unfortunately, Verdi's health deteriorated and the premiere of the new work had to be postponed until 1847. During his period of recovery, one of Verdi's close friends, Andrea Maffei, a distinguished poet who had translated both Shakespeare and Schiller into Italian, suggested that ""Macbeth"" and Schiller's ""Die Räuber"" might provide suitable operatic subjects. With an offer to present a new opera in Florence, Verdi had the choice of two locations,"
"Oberto (opera) Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio is an opera in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on an existing libretto by Antonio Piazza probably called ""Rocester"". It was Verdi's first opera, written over a period of four years, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 17 November 1839. The La Scala production enjoyed ""a fair success"" and the theatre's impresario, Bartolomeo Merelli, commissioned two further operas from the young composer. During his student days in Milan, Verdi began the process of making connections to the world of music"
"I vespri siciliani I vespri siciliani (; ""The Sicilian Vespers"") is a five-act Italian opera originally written in French for the Paris Opéra by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi and translated into Italian shortly after its premiere in June 1855. Under its original title, ""Les vêpres siciliennes"", the libretto was prepared by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier from their work ""Le duc d'Albe"", which was written in 1838 and offered to Halévy and Donizetti before Verdi agreed to set it to music in 1854. The story is loosely based on a historical event, the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, using"
"as ""Il Proscritto""), ""Il trovatore"" (23 December 1854), ""La traviata"" (6 December 1856), ""Rigoletto"" (19 January 1857), ""Un ballo in maschera"" (13 January 1861), and ""Aida"" (22 April 1876) with Verdi conducting. Among the important singers appearing in Verdi's operas were Giorgio Ronconi, Adelaide Borghi-Mamo, and Gaetano Fraschini. Verdi is reported to have referred to the Salle Ventadour as his favorite opera house in Paris. Besides opera, the Salle Ventadour was also sometimes used for concerts. Giaocchino Rossini's ""Stabat Mater"" received its premiere there on 7 January 1842. Richard Wagner conducted three concerts devoted to his own music, including extracts"
"Italian librettist Antonio Ghislanzoni as a basis for his libretto. Giuseppe Verdi was appointed to compose the music. The result was the famous opera, ""Aida"", with its heroic quality, powerful dramatic scenes and its passionate music. Because of delays caused by the Franco-Prussian war, the sets and costumes for the premiere of ""Aida"" could not be transported from Paris in time, and in 1869 the Opera House opened instead with Verdi's ""Rigoletto"", one of Verdi's earlier masterpieces. ""Aida"" would receive its world premiere in Cairo in 1871. Contrary to general belief, ""Aida"" was not commissioned for the inauguration of the"
"faded from public view until the mid-20th century revivals. Influenced by his friendship in the 1840s with Andrea Maffei, a poet and man of letters who had suggested both Schiller's ""Die Räuber"" (""The Robbers"") and Shakespeare's play ""Macbeth"" as suitable subjects for operas, Giuseppe Verdi received a commission from Florence's Teatro della Pergola, but no particular opera was specified. He only started working on ""Macbeth"" in September 1846, the driving reason for that choice being the availability of a particular singer, the baritone Felice Varesi who would sing the title role. With Varesi under contract, Verdi could focus on the"
"""La Cenerentola"" (1817). But he also wrote serious opera, ""Tancredi"" (1813) and ""Semiramide"" (1823). Rossini's successors in the Italian ""bel canto"" were Vincenzo Bellini (1801–35), Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) and Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901). It was Verdi who transformed the whole nature of operatic writing during the course of his long career. His first great successful opera, ""Nabucco"" (1842), caught the public fancy because of the driving vigour of its music and its great choruses. """", one of the chorus renditions, was interpreted and gave advantageous meaning to the struggle for Italian independence and to unify Italy. After ""Nabucco"", Verdi based his"
"and deservedly popular. There is an unusually extended orchestral introduction with solo violin in three sections before the ""Baptism"" trio ""Qual voluttà trascorrere"" with the solo violin also prominent in the closing section of that trio. The character of Giselda comes across with striking individuality due to the music Verdi composed for her. Notes Sources I Lombardi alla prima crociata I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata (""The Lombards on the First Crusade"") is an operatic ""dramma lirico"" in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on an epic poem by Tommaso Grossi, which was ""very"
"been recognized by contemporary audiences. The aria was performed by actress Daniela Vega for the final scene of Sebastián Lelio's 2017 film ""A Fantastic Woman"". Ombra mai fu """" is the opening aria from the 1738 opera ""Serse"" by George Frideric Handel. The opera was a commercial failure, lasting only five performances in London after its premiere. In the 19th century, however, this aria was rediscovered and became one of Handel's best-known pieces. Handel adapted the aria from the setting by Giovanni Bononcini, who, in turn, adapted it from the setting by Francesco Cavalli. All three composers had produced settings"
"and links to the values of the Risorgimento. Verdi started as a republican, became a strong supporter of Cavour and entered the Italian parliament on Cavour's suggestion. His politics caused him to be frequently in trouble with the Austrian censors. Verdi's main works of 1842-49 were especially relevant to the struggle for independence, including ""Nabucco"" (1842), ""I Lombardi alla prima crociata"" (1843), ""Ernani"" (1844), ""Attila"" (1846), ""Macbeth"" (1847), and ""La battaglia di Legnano"" (1848). However, starting in the 1850s, his operas showed few patriotic themes because of the heavy censorship of the absolutist regimes in power. Verdi later became disillusioned"
"La nave La nave is an opera in a Prologue and three “Episodes” by Italian composer Italo Montemezzi. Its Italian language libretto was adapted by Tito Ricordi from Gabriele d'Annunzio's 1908 play of the same name. The opera premiered at La Scala in Milan on November 3, 1918, conducted by Tullio Serafin. ""La nave"" is a work which contains strongly patriotic and imperialistic themes, and fortune seemed to smile on its first performance when, after the conclusions of the first and second episodes, the performance was interrupted by announcements that Italian troops had entered Trento and Trieste respectively, thus signaling"
"The company's inaugural season in 2013 was launched with a concert performance of ""Rienzi"", an opera from early in Wagner's career (but seldom performed today), followed by the ""ambitious, satisfying trifecta"" of Mascagni's ""Zanetto"", Verdi's ""Un giorno di regno"", and Wolf-Ferrari's ""Il segreto di Susanna"". In 2014, its season opened with the Boston premiere of Korngold's ""grandly gorgeous, melancholy masterpiece,"" ""Die tote Stadt"", in a production praised for its ""precision, force, and tone chemistry"";. The company also put on two one-act, one-singer operas by Dominick Argento (""Miss Havisham's Wedding Night"" and ""A Water Bird Talk""), as well as Tobias Picker's"
"Giovanna d'Arco Giovanna d'Arco (""Joan of Arc"") is an operatic ""dramma lirico"" with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, who had prepared the libretti for ""Nabucco"" and ""I Lombardi"". It is Verdi's seventh opera. The work partly reflects the story of Joan of Arc and appears to be loosely based on the play ""Die Jungfrau von Orleans"" by Friedrich von Schiller. Verdi wrote the music during the autumn and winter of 1844/45 and the opera had its first performance at Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 15 February 1845. By"
"Risorgimento are linked, emphasizing Verdi's patriotic intent and links to the values of the Risorgimento. Verdi started as a republican, became a strong supporter of Cavour, and entered the Italian parliament on Cavour's suggestion. His politics caused him to be frequently in trouble with the Austrian censors. Verdi's main works of 1842–49 were especially relevant to the struggle for independence, including 'Nabucco' (1842), 'I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata' (1843), 'Ernani' (1844), 'Attila' (1846), 'Macbeth' (1847), and 'La Battaglia di Legnano' (1848). However, starting in the 1850s, his operas showed few patriotic themes because of the heavy censorship by the absolutist"
"""Dell'invito trascorsa e gia l'ora"" from the start of ""La traviata"". The bicentenary of Verdi's birth in 2013 was celebrated in numerous events around the world, both in performances and broadcasts. In recent years historians have vigorously debated how political Verdi's operas were. In particular, the ""Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves"" (known as ""Va, pensiero"") from the third act of the opera ""Nabucco"" was intended to be an anthem for Italian patriots, who were seeking to unify their country and free it from foreign control in the years up to 1861 (the chorus's theme of exiles singing about their homeland,"
"by Giuseppe Verdi in 1842, ""La Gioconda"" by Amilcare Ponchielli, ""Madama Butterfly"" by Giacomo Puccini in 1904, ""Turandot"" by Giacomo Puccini in 1926, and more recently ""Teneke"", by Fabio Vacchi in 2007, to name but a few. Other major theatres in Milan include the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Teatro Dal Verme, Teatro Lirico (Milan) and the Teatro Regio Ducal. The city also has a renownded symphony orchestra and musical conservatory, and has been, throughout history, a major centre for musical composition: numerous famous composers and musicians such as Gioseppe Caimo, Simon Boyleau, Hoste da Reggio, Verdi, Giulio Gatti-Casazza, Paolo Cherici and"
"in his native Victoria, Gozo (Malta). His name became a legendary point of reference for opera productions such as those by Verdi (""Rigoletto"", ""Aida"", ""La traviata"", ""La forza del destino"", ""Nabucco"", ""Macbeth"", ""Il trovatore"", ""Un ballo in maschera"", ""Otello""), Puccini (""La bohème"", ""Tosca"", ""Madama Butterfly"", ""Il trittico"", ""Turandot""), others by Mascagni (""Cavalleria Rusticana""), Leoncavallo ""(Pagliacci""), Donizetti ""(L'elisir d'amore"", ""Lucia di Lammermoor"") and Bellini ""(Norma""). These productions saw the participation of great opera singers such as Ghena Dimitrova, Francesca Patanè, Cecilia Gasdia, Adelaida Negri, Daniela Dessì, Giuseppe Giacomini, Rumen Doikov, Fabio Armiliato, Mark Rucker, Aldo Protti, Nicola Rossi Lemeni, Hao Jiang"
"Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi The Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi is an opera house located in Trieste, Italy and named after the composer Giuseppe Verdi. Privately constructed, it was inaugurated as the Teatro Nuovo to replace the smaller 800-seat ""Cesareo Regio Teatro di San Pietro"" on 21 April 1801 with a performance of Johann Simon Mayr's ""Ginevra di Scozia"". Initially, the Nuovo had 1,400 seats. In 1821, it became known as the Teatro Grande. By the end of the 18th century, the need for a new theatre in Trieste became evident. Its main theatre, the Teatro di San Pietro, had become"
"major choral work composed since the compilation of Mozart's Requiem'. After Gioachino Rossini's death in 1868, Verdi suggested that a number of Italian composers collaborate on a ""Requiem"" in Rossini's honor. He began the effort by submitting the concluding movement, the ""Libera me"". During the next year a ""Messa per Rossini"" was compiled by Verdi and twelve other famous Italian composers of the time. The premiere was scheduled for 13 November 1869, the first anniversary of Rossini's death. However, on 4 November, nine days before the premiere, the organising committee abandoned it. Verdi blamed this on the scheduled conductor, Angelo"
"Rigoletto Rigoletto () is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play ""Le roi s'amuse"" by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851. It is widely considered to be the first of the operatic masterpieces of Verdi's middle-to-late career. Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's beautiful daughter Gilda."
"the embankments of the Tiber (""lungoteveri"") were built in 1888; this section was named ""Lungotevere Tor di Nona"". A free-standing white marble fountain (1925) memorializes the theater in its late-18th century transformation as the Teatro Apollo, with suitable theatrical masks, and a small trickle of water into a massive sarcophagus, in the somewhat theatrical classical style of Vittorio Emmanuele III and Benito Mussolini. As the Teatro Apollo, the largest lyric theater of Rome, the site witnessed the Roman premieres of two operas of Giuseppe Verdi, ""Il Trovatore"" and ""Un Ballo in Maschera"". Now nothing is left of the original tower"
"opera, ""Oberto"" in 1839, Verdi received a commission from La Scala impresario Merelli to write three more operas. ""Un giorno"" was first of the three, but he wrote the piece during a period when first his children and then his wife died and its failure in 1840 caused the young composer to almost abandon opera. It was not until he was enticed to write the music for the existing libretto of what became ""Nabucco"" that Verdi restarted his career. After ""Oberto"" and after Merelli returned from Vienna in early 1840, he needed a comedy to be written for the autumn"
"such as ""Nabucco"" by Giuseppe Verdi in 1842, ""La Gioconda"" by Amilcare Ponchielli, ""Madama Butterfly"" by Giacomo Puccini in 1904, ""Turandot"" by Puccini in 1926, and more recently ""Teneke"", by Fabio Vacchi in 2007. Other major theatres in Milan include the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Teatro Dal Verme, Teatro Lirico and formerly the Teatro Regio Ducal. The city is also the seat of a renowned symphony orchestra and musical conservatory, and has been, throughout history, a major centre for musical composition: numerous famous composers and musicians such as Gioseppe Caimo, Simon Boyleau, Hoste da Reggio, Verdi, Giulio Gatti-Casazza, Paolo Cherici and"
"word ""War!"" several times towards the Austrian officers at the opera house. The relationship between Gaetano Donizetti and the Risorgimento is still controversial. Even though Giuseppe Mazzini tried to use some of Donizetti's works for promoting the Italian cause, Donizetti had always preferred not to get involved in politics. Historians vigorously debate how political were the operas of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). In particular, the chorus of the Hebrew slaves (known as ""Va, pensiero"") from the third act of the opera ""Nabucco"" was intended to be an anthem for Italian patriots, who were seeking to unify their country and free it"
"the death of his mother in June 1851. The fact that this is ""the one opera of Verdi's which focuses on a mother rather than a father"" is perhaps related to her death. In the winter of 1851–52 Verdi decided to go to Paris with Strepponi, where he concluded an agreement with the Opéra to write what became ""Les vêpres siciliennes"", his first original work in the style of grand opera. In February 1852, the couple attended a performance of Alexander Dumas ""fils""'s play, ""The Lady of the Camellias""; Verdi immediately began to compose music for what would later become"
"1913, Zenatello had been instrumental in having the Verona Arena, built originally by the ancient Romans, restored and turned into a world-famous open-air venue for operatic performances. That same year the arena was used to mount a grand production of ""Aida"", marking the centenary of Verdi's birth. In 1947, Zenatello arranged for a promising young soprano named Maria Callas to appear at the arena's Summer Festival in Amilcare Ponchielli's opera ""La Gioconda"". This appearance would give Callas invaluable exposure in Italy and help set her on the path to future stardom. Zenatello died of natural causes in New York City"
"of united Italy. Thus, """"Viva Verdi"""" was a rallying cry for patriots and often appeared in graffiti in Milan and other cities in what was then part of Austro-Hungarian territory. Verdi had problems with censorship before the unification of Italy. His opera ""Un ballo in maschera"" was originally entitled ""Gustavo III"" and was presented to the San Carlo opera in Naples, the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, in the late 1850s. The Neapolitan censors objected to the realistic plot about the assassination of Gustav III, King of Sweden, in the 1790s. Even after the plot was changed,"
"had been invited to write an inaugural hymn, but had declined. The plot bears striking, though unintentional, similarities to Metastasio's libretto ""La Nitteti"" (1756). Verdi originally chose to write a brief orchestral prelude instead of a full overture for the opera. He then composed an overture of the ""potpourri"" variety to replace the original prelude. However, in the end he decided not to have the overture performed because of its—his own words—""pretentious insipidity"". This overture, never used today, was given a rare broadcast performance by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra on 30 March 1940, but was never commercially"