Giuseppe Verdi

Jeremy Tambling (University of Hong Kong)
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Most famous of Italian opera composers, writer of some its most familiar melodies – “La donna è mobile” (

Rigoletto

) the Brindisi in

La traviata

and the “Anvil” chorus from

Il Trovatore

, parodied in

A Night at the Opera

– Giuseppe Verdi was born 10 October 1813 at Romcole, near Busseto in the Duchy of Parma, and died in Milan 27 January 1901. He began opera-writing in 1836 in Busseto. The first opera by which he became known,

Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio

, was put on at Milan, 1839, followed by

Un giorno de regno

(1840), his only comedy until

Falstaff

(Milan 1893). The contrast with Rossini is striking. Popularity came with

Nabucco

(Milan, 1842), to a libretto by Temistocle Solera (1815-1878) who specialized in theatrical effects. Its unison chorus “Va pensiero”, sung by…

2110 words

Citation: Tambling, Jeremy. "Giuseppe Verdi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4534, accessed 28 March 2024.]

4534 Giuseppe Verdi 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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