AS Level Music Set Works LOVE & LOSS by Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi Born in Roncole, Parma in Northern Italy on 10 October 1813 Died in Milan, 27 January 1901 Verdi is one of the greatest Opera Composers who ever lived. He wrote 28 in total, although only a core of these are performed often today in opera houses around the world.

Verdi’s Early Retirement After completing his opera AIDA, and after its premiere in 1871, Verdi decided it was time to end his career as a composer of Opera. He was, at the time, the most successful Opera composer, and most probably the wealthiest too, that Italy had ever seen. As the 1870s progressed, Verdi became more and more out of touch with the trends and public tastes for Opera in Italy - especially as other composers were looking to the trends of France and Germany to incorporate into a new style. He did premiere a Messa da Requiem in 1874.

Verdi’s Early Retirement Having been at the forefront of Italian music for more than two decades, Verdi found himself accused of being out of touch and old fashioned - and it is thought that his self-imposed retirement was due to the fact that he agreed. However, a young new director of publishing house Ricordi, Giulio Ricordi, would not let him rest, and carefully coaxed him out of retirement in 1879, by teaming up with librettist Arrigo Boito, who was a master of his craft.

Otello Verdi showed cautious enthusiasm for the project, and when Boito brought to the table a draft libretto full of ingenious new rhythmic devices (but maintaining a firm dramatic thread) Verdi signed up. However, Otello was very long in the making. First Verdi made revisions to some of his other Operas, including Don Carlos with Boito’s help, and then he insisted on some revisions to Boito’s libretto for Otello. It is thought that these fruitful sessions working together finally persuaded Verdi to come out of retirement to set his second Shakespearean story to music (the first was Macbeth in 1847). These revisions included a grande concertanto finale to Act Three, as this was the traditional manner in which Verdi had previously been writing.

Otello As word spread of Otello’s creation, rumours abounded throughout Europe, and many clamoured to play a part in the premiere - conductors, singers and opera-houses alike. However, the premiere had already been mooted as taking place at La Scala in Milan (still one of the greatest Operah Houses in the world) and the conductor was to be Franco Faccio - a great friend of Verdi’s (and another who had helped coax him into the project).

Otello Verdi - still not 100% sure of his ability to create another masterpiece, controlled the right to cancel the premiere up until the last second. Italy's foremost dramatic tenor, Franceso Tamagno was to sing Otello while the esteemed French singing-actor Victor Maurel would assume the villainous baritone role of Iago. Romilda Pantaleoni a well known singing-actress, was hired for the soprano role of Desdemona.

Otello Verdi’s caution and nervousness about the premiere proved to be totally without basis. Verdi was called back to the stage for a total of 20 curtain calls during the epic ovation given by the premiere audience on February 5th 1887. It quickly swept through the world, premiering in the US in 1888 and London in 1889. For the French premiere in Paris in 1894 Verdi added a section of ballet music to Act 3 to cater to the Parisienne tastes. However, this has not been incorporated into the score in its usual Italian form for subsequent performances.