1. Giuseppe Verdi (Oct 9, 1813 - Jan 27, 1901)
1832 – Applied for Milan Conservatory, but was rejected due to his age. Subsequently, he began studying under Vincenzo Lavigna.
1833 – Began career in Italy’s music industry by working for Philharmonic Society in Busseto.
1838 – Completed his first Opera, Oberto.
1842/1843 – Completed two new operas, Nabucco and I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata.
1850s – ‘70s – Completed popular operatic series throughout the decades, Rigoletto (1951), Il trovatore (1853), La traviata (1853), Don Carlos (1867), and Aida (1971).
1874 – Completed Messa da Requiem.
1886 – Collaborated with composer, Arrigo Boito to complete Otello.
1890 – Completed Falstaff – a comedic adaption of the Shakespearean plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV.
1898 – Composed his last work, the Four Scared Songs.
2.
1813 – Verdi was born on October 9
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Although his orchestration was often masterful, Verdi relied heavily on his melodic gift as the ultimate instrument of musical expression. In many of his passages, and especially in his arias, the harmony is ascetic, with the entire orchestra occasionally sounding as if it were one large accompanying instrument.
7. It is known that Verdi used Tomaschek piano when he composed.
8. His usage of orchestra and contrapunt is innovation: for instance, the strings doing the rapid ascending scale in Monterone's scene in "Rigoletto" accentuate the drama, and also in "Rigoletto", the choir humming six closely grouped notes backstage effectively portrays the brief ominous wails of the approaching tempest. Verdi's innovations are so unique that other composers do not use them; they remain, to this day, Verdi's signature tricks.
9.
a. He suffered from family tragedy in early days of his career. His two children and young wife died while he was working on his first opera, Oberto.
b. Verdi also had some political influence on Italy. He was made a Senator in 1874, an honorary office that made no demands on