Romantic ideas dominated the nineteenth century. Many great composers arose to satisfy the thriving public’s ears. Among these was Giuseppi Verdi (1813-1901), who lived in northern Italy. He remains known for his Italian operas, even though he had also written a version of the Requiem Mass, a string quartet and several other songs (Yudkin, 2013). Verdi was viewed as a strong composer who grew and prospered throughout his life.
Unlike many other composers of the time, Verdi was not born into a family of musicians; his father ran an inn in a nearby small town and his mother worked as a spinner. Though Verdi never had extreme musical influence, his craving for that aspect of life became strong. As a boy, Verdi displayed this talent and love for music by playing the church organ and conducting the town band in Busseto. One of the town’s merchants took him into his home, and later sent him to Milan to study. Verdi soon returned to his hometown to marry (Yudkin, 2013).
Verdi’s happy marriage quickly soured, due to a series of negative events. Within four years of his new marriage, his wife and two children they had together had all perished (The Biography Channel, 2013). Depression had overcome Verdi and he was seldom able to concentrate on his work. Eventually, Verdi was instructed to read the libretto of Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar) and became instantly intrigued by the idea of writing the score. Four years later, Nabucco brought him to fame and Verdi’s career ignited once again. After he accomplished this major success, he was able to complete 15 others within the following 11 years, which included Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853) and La traviata (1853) (Yudkin, 2013).
Verdi relocated back to the countryside and w...
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...ork to outshine that of masters such as Beethoven. Verdi obtained but one virtuosic position of composers in the Romantic period and worked heavily throughout his lifetime. He may have not been the most predictable fulfiller of a symbolic composer, but was able to conquer the odds. This can stand as an example, further expanding his influence upon the world.
Works Cited
EmausBot. (2013 , November 10). Rigoletto. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoletto
Green, A. (n.d.). Aida Synopsis - The Story of Verdi's Opera Aida. Retrieved from http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/Opera-Synopses/qt/Aida-Synopsis.htm
Giuseppe Verdi. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:36, Nov 06, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/giuseppe-verdi-9517249.
Yudkin, J. (2013). Understanding music. (seventh ed., pp. 188-192). Columbus, Ohio: Pearson/Longman.
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