Bachtrack top ten: Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi, portrait by Giovanni Boldini (1886)

Statue of Giuseppe Verdi in Busseto

By Mark Pullinger, 09 October 2024

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“all it takes for a successful performance of Trovatore is ‘the four greatest singers in the world’”

Danny Riley, 28th October

From fulfilling funerary functions, to eulogising friends and fellow artists, or lamenting the waste of war: here are some of the finest examples of music written in mourning.

Royal Ballet & Opera issues new statement on Palestine flag

Bachtrack, 25th July

Director of Opera, Oliver Mears, was filmed trying to remove a Palestine flag raised by a performer during the final curtain call for Il trovatore. RBO has since said their “goal is to act with integrity and compassion.”

Years of pilgrimage: Byron’s musical afterlives

Roy Westbrook, 22nd January

Lord Byron’s influence on musicians was immense – with Rossini, Verdi, Berlioz, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Schoenberg among the many composers to create works inspired by his writings.

Bachtrack top ten: Maria Callas

Mark Pullinger, 2nd December

Maria Callas was the most iconic soprano of the 20th century. We mark her centenary by looking at ten of her most important roles.

Keeping score: Riccardo Muti reflects on a lifetime in music

Mark Pullinger, 31st August

The Italian maestro, who recently stepped down as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director, talks about learning from orchestras, future plans – and his frustrations with the world of opera.

Tearing up the box: Lise Davidsen on new roles and vocal stereotyping

Mark Pullinger, 4th August

The Norwegian soprano talks about pacing a career, new roles and resisting the offers that followed her Operalia success.

Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.