Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( VAIR-dee, Italian: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈverdi]; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the modern province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the help of a local patron named Antonio Barezzi.

Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera scene after the era of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, and Gaetano Donizetti, whose works significantly influenced him. He was also strongly influenced by the French Grand opera style, particularly Giacomo Meyerbeer and Gaspare Spontini. In his early operas, Verdi demonstrated sympathy with the Risorgimento movement which sought the unification of Italy. He also served briefly as an elected politician. The chorus "Va, pensiero" from his early opera Nabucco (1842), and similar choruses in later operas, were much in the spirit of the unification movement, and the composer himself became esteemed as a representative of these ideals.

An intensely private person, Verdi did not seek to ingratiate himself with popular movements. As he became professionally successful, he was able to reduce his operatic workload and sought to establish himself as a landowner in his native region. He found further fame with the three peaks of his "middle period": Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore and La traviata (both 1853). He surprised the musical world by returning, after his success with the opera Aida (1871), with three late masterpieces: his Requiem (1874), and the operas Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893). Verdi's operas remain among the most popular in the repertoire. In 2013, the bicentenary of his birth was widely celebrated around the world with television and radio broadcasts and live performances.

Operas in the OperaPedia Catalogue

The following 14 operas by Giuseppe Verdi are catalogued in OperaPedia, listed in chronological order of premiere. Click any title for the full editorial entry, including synopsis, premiere details, language, and notable arias.

• 1736 Alzira, 1736 Teatro San Carlo Italian
• 1801 Giovanna d'Arco, 1801 Italian
• 1809 Attila, 1809 Italian
• 1821 I due Foscari, 1821 Italian
• 1830 Ernani, 1830 Italian
• 1836 Il trovatore, 1836 Teatro Apollo Italian
• 1843 I Lombardi alla prima crociata, 1843 Italian
• 1845 I masnadieri, 1845 Italian
• 1850 Aroldo, 1850 Italian
• 1855 I vespri siciliani, 1855 Teatro Regio Italian
• 1857 Gustavo III, 1857 Italian
• 1867 Don Carlos, 1867 Salle Le Peletier Italian
• 1871 Aida, 1871 Italian
• 1893 Falstaff, 1893 La Scala Italian

Stylistic Position & Reception

Giuseppe Verdi's position within the operatic canon has been shaped by performance tradition as much as by scholarly judgment. The works that survive in the active repertory of the major houses tend to be those that combine memorable vocal writing with dramatically effective situations · qualities that audiences continue to respond to from one generation to the next. Other works in the catalogue, less frequently performed, often reward closer study by singers, conductors, and dramaturges seeking to broaden the standard repertoire.

Modern scholarship on Giuseppe Verdi has been substantially enriched by the publication of critical editions of the major scores, by the rediscovery of forgotten works and revisions, and by the steady documentation of performance history through recordings, theatre archives, and contemporary criticism. The biographical sketch above and the catalogue of works are compiled from public-domain reference sources, including the structured Wikidata layer and the corresponding English Wikipedia article.

Editorial Note

OperaPedia maintains its composer entries as living documents, revised whenever new editorial work justifies a change. If you encounter a factual error in the biographical material above or in the linked opera entries, please write to the editors using the contact details on our about page.