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Giuseppe Verdi (1818-1901)

Giuseppe Verdi, portrait by Giovanni Boldini, 1886 © Public domain
© Public domain
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Giuseppe Verdi, portrait by Giovanni Boldini (1886) © Public domain
Bachtrack top ten: Giuseppe Verdi
Of all the 19th-century Italian opera composers, one stood head and shoulders above the rest. But Giuseppe Verdi was more than just an opera composer. He became a political figurehead. Our playlist includes nine of his most famous operas and his Requiem, described as “an opera in ecclesiastical garb”.
Fact file
Year of birth1813
Year of death1901
NationalityItaly
PeriodRomantic
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LeedsRigoletto

© Photography by Feast
Verdi: Rigoletto
Patrick Lange; Femi Elufowoju Jr; Opera North; Rae Smith; Howard Hudson; Orchestra of Opera North

VilniusAida

© Martynas Aleksa
Verdi: Aida
Martynas Staškus; Gediminas Šeduikis; Lithuanian National Opera; Ričardas Šumila; Sigita Šimkūnaitė; Sandra Straukaitė; Andrius Stasiulis

RigaAida

© Agnese Zeltiņa
Verdi: Aida
Mārtiņš Ozoliņš; Māra Ķimele; Latvian National Opera; Ilmārs Blumbergs; Latvian National Opera Orchestra; Latvian National Opera Choir

ViennaWiener Männergesang-Verein

Musikverein Wien
Distler, Dvořák, Humperdinck, Mendelssohn, Mohaupt, Puccini, Schubert, Verdi, Wagner
KünstlerOrchester Wien; Günther Mohaupt; Wiener Männergesang-Verein; Chorvereinigung Schola Cantorum; Ensemble VielXang Hennersdorf; Männergesangverein Bruneck 1843

TartuOpera: La Traviata

© Heikki Leis
Verdi: La traviata
Risto Joost; Samuel Harjanne; Theatre Vanemuine; Aleksandr Bražnik; Peter Ahlqvist; Tinja Salmi; Toni Haaranen
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A flat Falstaff opens in Rome

George Petean (Ford) and Luca Salsi (Falstaff) © Fabrizio Sansoni | Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
A bland updating ends up flattening the contrasts and social satire that Verdi’s opera wants to highlight. 
**111
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A visually striking Nabucco lacks heart at the Festival Verdi

Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar (Nabucco) © Roberto Ricci | Festival Verdi
Pier Luigi Pizzi’s staging looks impressive but feels empty. Lidia Fridman’s Abigaille ignites the evening.
***11
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Nile spectacular: Franco Zeffirelli’s intimate Aida revived in Busseto

Federica Vitali (Aida) © Roberto Ricci | Festival Verdi
Franco Zeffirelli’s Aida – compact yet simultaneously monumental – is thrilling revived at the tiny Teatro Verdi in Busseto.
*****
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Alzira: mining for gold at the Festival Verdi

Marta Torbidoni (Alzira) and Daniel Luis de Vicente (Gusmano) © Roberto Ricci | Festival Verdi
Manuel Renga directs a simple, but sympathetic production of Verdi's early opera set in 16th-century Peru. 
****1
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Quinn Kelsey dazzles in the Met Opera’s new Macbeth

Quinn Kelsey (Macbeth) and chorus © Marty Sohl | Met Opera

The American baritone delivers a career-defining performance of the title role in Louisa Proske’s post-apocalyptic setting of Verdi’s first Shakespearean opera, which opens the company’s new season.

****1
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