Verdi, Giuseppe (1813 - 1901 )

Verdi dominated the world of Italian opera from his first considerable success in 1842 with Nabucco until his final Shakespearean operas Otello, staged at La Scala, Milan, in 1887, and Falstaff, mounted at the same opera-house in 1893. His career coincided with the rise of Italian nationalism and the unification of the country, causes with which he was openly associated.

Operas

The best known of Verdi's 28 operas are Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar), Macbeth, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Les Vpres Siciliennes (The Sicilian Vespers), Simon Boccanegra, Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball), La Forza del Destino (The Force of Destiny), Don Carlos, Aida, Otello and Falstaff.

Church Music

In addition to settings of the Te Deum and the Stabat Mater, Verdi wrote an impressive large scale setting of the Requiem, its origin stemming from the death of Rossini in 1868 and the death of the writer Manzoni. The Requiem is a work of operatic magnificence, none the less moving for its theatrical elements. The Quattro pezzi sacri (Four Sacred Pieces) were written at various times in Verdi's later years. The first, 'Ave Maria sulla scala enigmatica', written in 1889, was followed, on publication, by a 'Stabat mater', the 'Laudi alla Vergine Maria', on a text from Dante, and a 'Te Deum' for double chorus and orchestra. The Four Pieces were published in 1898.

Discography

Ballet
Chamber Music
Choral - Sacred
8.557411
MUSIC TO DIE FOR
Instrumental
Jazz Legends
Music Education
8.558196-97
DISCOVER OPERA
Nostalgia
Opera
8.555037-38
A TO Z OF OPERA
HRC1055
FAMOUS MARCHES
8.660033-34
VERDI: Aida
HCD12934-35
VERDI: Attila
8.660096-98
VERDI: Don Carlos
8.660050-51
VERDI: Falstaff
HCD12738-40
VERDI: Macbeth
8.660013-14
VERDI: Rigoletto
BIS-CD-296
VERDI: Rigoletto
8.557778
VERDI: Songs
8.660011-12
VERDI: Traviata (La)
8.660023-24
VERDI: Trovatore (Il)
Orchestral
8.553627
FAMOUS OVERTURES
8.553596
MARCHES (FAMOUS)
Vocal
8.557778
VERDI: Songs
Wind Ensemble/Band Music
8.570726
SYMPHONIC BRASS
World