Giuseppe Verdi – A Complete Biography

Introduction

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) reshaped 19th-century opera with a blend of theatrical instinct, melodic invention, and human drama that still defines the repertory. Over a career spanning nearly six decades, he wrote 28 operas—many of them perennial mainstays of the world’s stages—and a handful of sacred works, most famously the Messa da Requiem (1874). His name became intertwined with Italy’s 19th-century struggles for national unity, and in later life he was drawn—however reluctantly—into public service. Today, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, Don Carlos, Aida, Otello, and Falstaff anchor opera seasons worldwide, a testament to his enduring theatrical and musical power.

Childhood

Verdi was born on October 9 or 10, 1813, in the hamlet of Le Roncole near Busseto, in Parma. The son of Carlo Verdi, an innkeeper and merchant, and Luigia Uttini, a spinner, he showed early musical aptitude. He studied organ and singing with the local organist Pietro Baistrocchi and later came under the guidance of Ferdinando Provesi in nearby Busseto. A local merchant and amateur musician, Antonio Barezzi—who would later become Verdi’s father-in-law—recognized the boy’s promise and helped support his education.

Youth

In 1832 Verdi traveled to Milan hoping to enter the Conservatory but was rejected for reasons including age and nationality. He remained in Milan to study privately with Vincenzo Lavigna, a maestro from La Scala. Back in Busseto he worked as a teacher and conductor, and in 1836 he married Margherita Barezzi. Their two children died in infancy, and Margherita herself died in 1840, tragedies that deeply marked him.

Verdi’s first opera, Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio, premiered at La Scala in 1839; his second, the comedy Un giorno di regno (1840), failed. The breakthrough came with Nabucco (1842), which established him as a new force in Italian opera and began a long association with La Scala.

Adulthood

The 1840s and early 1850s were years of relentless productivity and rising fame. Verdi moved between Italy and abroad, refining a theatrical voice that married memorable melodies to keen dramatic pacing. He settled on the estate of Sant’Agata near Busseto and, after a long companionship, married soprano Giuseppina Strepponi in 1859. His personal life grew more stable even as his operas explored darker subjects with increasing psychological nuance.

Verdi’s name became linked—sometimes romantically, sometimes polemically—with the Risorgimento, Italy’s unification movement. The slogan “Viva VERDI” was both a tribute to him and an acronym for “Viva Vittorio Emanuele Re D’Italia.” After unification, he briefly served in public office, elected a deputy in 1861 and later appointed a senator for life, reflecting his stature as a national symbol.

Major Compositions

• Early to middle period. After Nabucco (1842), Verdi composed I Lombardi alla prima crociata (1843) and Macbeth (1847; revised 1865). His great middle-period trilogy—Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), and La traviata (1853)—revolutionized Italian opera with bold forms and vivid characterizations.
• Grand opera years. Verdi embraced the scale and style of French grand opera in Les vêpres siciliennes (1855), Simon Boccanegra (1857; revised 1881), Un ballo in maschera (1859), La forza del destino (1862, rev. 1869), and Don Carlos (1867).
• Global fame. Aida (1871), commissioned for the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, combined spectacle with emotional depth. In 1874 he premiered the Messa da Requiem, honoring novelist Alessandro Manzoni.
• Late masterpieces. Collaborating with Arrigo Boito, Verdi wrote Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893), works of continuous musical drama, harmonic sophistication, and orchestral brilliance that crowned his career.

Death

Verdi died in Milan on January 27, 1901, at the Hotel de Milan. He was first interred at the Cimitero Monumentale and later reinterred in the crypt of the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, a retirement home for musicians he had founded and endowed. At his funeral, Arturo Toscanini conducted a massive chorus in “Va, pensiero,” drawing immense crowds. Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi are buried side by side there.

Conclusion

Verdi’s legacy lies not only in his melodies and memorable scenes but in an operatic language that fuses character, story, and orchestral color into compelling drama. His music remains central to the opera repertoire, and his life, marked by personal tragedy, patriotism, and philanthropy, shows how art can resonate deeply with both private and public emotion. From the bitter laughter of Rigoletto to the radiant final fugue of Falstaff, Verdi’s operas continue to speak to audiences across the world.