October 7, 2013
Verdi 200! It is a very big day: on October 10 the nice grasp of Italian opera, Giuseppe Verdi, turns 200 (he may need been born on October 9, however what does it matter!). We’re poor on Verdi’s music: opera homes don’t share their recorded operas with us, neither do the foremost labels, so all we will do to have fun is borrow from YouTube. We’ve beforehand written about Verid’s life, so as we speak we’ll simply current 4 magnificent choices from his operas Rigoletto, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, and Aida. Rigoletto was composed in 1851. Verdi was a widely known composer by then, however Rigoletto, written for and premiered on the Venetian theater La Fenice, was an unparallel success. The subsequent day individuals sung the Duke’s aria La donna è cell on the streets. Enrico Caruso, one of the crucial well-known Dukes, and Nellie Melba carried out the opera in 1902 within the Covent Backyard. The quartet Bella figlia dell’amore (Stunning daughter of affection) from Act III is among the highlights of the opera. Right here it’s, with Joan Sutherland, nonetheless in her prime at 61, as Gilda, Luciano Pavarotti, in nice kind because the Duke, Leo Nucci as Rigoletto and Isola Jones as Maddalena (we reduce out a lot of the ovation, which ran for six minutes straight, greater than the Quartet itself).
La Traviata was composed simply two years later, in 1853. It’s primarily based on a then highly regarded novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, La Dame aux camélias (The Woman of the Camellias), a tragic love story of a courtesan affected by tuberculosis and a provincial bourgeois. The novel was tailored for the theater, and Verdi noticed the play throughout his go to to Paris in 1852. The libretto was written by Verdi’s favourite, Francesco Maria Piave (he additionally wrote the libretto for Rigoletto). Margurite of Dumas grew to become Violetta, and Armand – Alfredo. Right here is the well-known duet from Act III: Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo (“We are going to depart Paris, O beloved”). Alfredo is Jose Carreras and Violetta – the incomparable Renata Scotto.
The years 1851 by means of 1854 had been extremely productive for Verdi. He labored on Il Trovatore and La Traviata virtually on the identical time: the previous was premiered on January 19, 1983, the latter – on March 6. Il Trovatore (The Troubadour) was primarily based on a play by the Spanish dramatist Antonio García Gutiérrez. Set within the fifteenth century, Il Trovatore tells a complicate story of Manrico, the troubadour; Rely di Luna, a nobleman; Leonora, who’s in love with Manrico however is pursued by di Luna, and Azucena, a gipsy. In Act IV, with each Manrico and Azucena being imprisoned by di Luna, Leonora begs him to free them. This duet, Miserere (Lord, Thy mercy on this soul) is carried out by Maria Callas, La Divina, in all probability probably the most expressive soprano of the 20th century and an ideal Leonora, and Tito Gobbi, one of many best Verdi baritones.
Aida was written virtually 20 years later, in 1871. The opera was commissioned by Ismail Pasha, the Ottoman Governor of Egypt. It was premiered in Cairo after which staged, to monumental success, in all main opera theaters of the world, from Teatro Colon in Buenos-Aires to the Vienna State Opera to the Covent Backyard in London and Mariinsky in St-Petersburg. The story is ready in historic Egypt. Aida, the Ethiopian princess, is captured by the Egyptians. Radames, Egypt’s navy commander, falls in love together with her. Sadly for each of them, the Pharaoh’s daughter Amneris loves Radames. Ultimately, Radames is placed on trial for treason, then sealed up in a darkish vault and left there to die. There he finds Aida who, in longing to share his fait, hid in what would change into their tomb. They bid farewell to life and sing of their love. On prime of the vault, Amneris weeps and prays. You possibly can hear the “Tomb scene” as carried out by the supreme singers, Montserrat Caballé and Plácido Domingo. Fiorenza Cossotto is Amneris. Riccardo Muti leads the New Philharmonia Orchestra.
The music within the 4 excerpts above runs for simply 20 minutes, however it’s 20 minutes of pure genius. Viva maestro and Buon compleanno!
