Misplaced Pages

#713286

99-527: Currently, the reinvigorated theatre has acquired a growing international reputation as a summer opera festival theatre by focusing on works by Haydn , Handel , Gluck and Mozart and emphasis on authentic performance . The theatre has also had guest performances by the Royal Swedish Opera . The first theatre to be built on the Drottningholm site was built at the behest of Queen Lovisa Ulrika by

198-464: A Stabat Mater ." This information comes from the Autobiographical Sketch which Verdi dictated to the publisher Giulio Ricordi late in life, in 1879, and remains the leading source for his early life and career. Written, understandably, with the benefit of hindsight, it is not always reliable when dealing with issues more contentious than those of his childhood. The other director of

297-444: A spinet . Verdi's gift for music was already apparent by 1820–21 when he began his association with the local church, serving in the choir, acting as an altar boy for a while, and taking organ lessons. After Baistrocchi's death, Verdi, at the age of eight, became the official paid organist. The music historian Roger Parker points out that both of Verdi's parents belonged to families of small landowners and traders, certainly not

396-608: A drama by Vittorio Alfieri , was written by Verdi when he was 15 and performed in Bergamo . It was acclaimed by both Demaldè and Barezzi, who commented: "He shows a vivid imagination, a philosophical outlook, and sound judgment in the arrangement of instrumental parts." In late 1829, Verdi had completed his studies with Provesi, who declared that he had no more to teach Verdi. At the time, Verdi had been giving singing and piano lessons to Barezzi's daughter Margherita; by 1831, they were unofficially engaged. Verdi set his sights on Milan, then

495-741: A farmhouse and outbuildings, providing a home for his parents from May 1844. Later that year, he also bought the Palazzo Cavalli (now known as the Palazzo Orlandi) on the via Roma, Busseto's main street. In May 1848, Verdi signed a contract for land and houses at Sant'Agata in Busseto, which had once belonged to his family. It was here he built his own house, completed in 1880, now known as the Villa Verdi , where he lived from 1851 until his death. In March 1843, Verdi visited Vienna (where Gaetano Donizetti

594-539: A fraternal hand, and Italy will yet become the first nation of the world...I am drunk with joy! Imagine that there are no more Germans here!!" Verdi had been admonished by the poet Giuseppe Giusti for turning away from patriotic subjects, the poet pleading with him to "do what you can to nourish the [sorrow of the Italian people], to strengthen it, and direct it to its goal." Cammarano suggested adapting Joseph Méry 's 1828 play La Bataille de Toulouse , which he described as

693-401: A letter that pledged his love. On the envelope, Strepponi wrote: "5 or 6 October 1846. They shall lay this letter on my heart when they bury me." Verdi had completed I masnadieri for London by May 1847 except for the orchestration. This he left until the opera was in rehearsal, since he wanted to hear "la [Jenny] Lind and modify her role to suit her more exactly". Verdi agreed to conduct

792-502: A libretto by the journalist Antonio Piazza. In mid-1834, Verdi sought to acquire Provesi's former post in Busseto but without success. But with Barezzi's help, he did obtain the secular post of maestro di musica . He taught, gave lessons, and conducted the Philharmonic for several months before returning to Milan in early 1835. By the following July, he obtained his certification from Lavigna. Eventually in 1835 Verdi became director of

891-449: A master of opera. The failure of Stiffelio (attributable not least to the censors of the time taking offence at the taboo subject of the supposed adultery of a clergyman's wife and interfering with the text and roles) incited Verdi to take pains to rework it, although even in the completely recycled version of Aroldo (1857) it still failed to please. Rigoletto , with its intended murder of royalty, and its sordid attributes, also upset

990-591: A new opera for the 1843 season. I Lombardi alla prima crociata was based on a libretto by Solera and premiered in February 1843. Inevitably, comparisons were made with Nabucco ; but one contemporary writer noted: "If [ Nabucco ] created this young man's reputation, I Lombardi served to confirm it." Verdi paid close attention to his financial contracts, making sure he was appropriately remunerated as his popularity increased. For I Lombardi and Ernani (1844) in Venice he

1089-467: A new opera from La Fenice, which Verdi eventually realised as La traviata . That was followed by an agreement with the Rome Opera Company to present Il trovatore for January 1853. Verdi now had sufficient earnings to retire, had he wished to. He had reached a stage where he could develop his operas as he wished, rather than be dependent on commissions from third parties. Il trovatore was in fact

SECTION 10

#1732863343714

1188-654: A production in Naples later in the year. Verdi was committed to the publisher Giovanni Ricordi for an opera—which became Stiffelio —for Trieste in the Spring of 1850; and, subsequently, following negotiations with La Fenice, developed a libretto with Piave and wrote the music for Rigoletto (based on Victor Hugo 's Le roi s'amuse ) for Venice in March 1851. This was the first of a sequence of three operas (followed by Il trovatore and La traviata ) which were to cement his fame as

1287-411: A pupil and amanuensis . He had known him since about 1828 as another of Barezzi's protégés. Muzio, who in fact was Verdi's only pupil, became indispensable to the composer. He reported to Barezzi that Verdi "has a breadth of spirit, of generosity, a wisdom". In November 1846, Muzio wrote of Verdi: "If you could see us, I seem more like a friend, rather than his pupil. We are always together at dinner, in

1386-478: A replacement to play in what became his first public event in his home town; he was an immediate success mostly playing his own music to the surprise of many and receiving strong local recognition. By 1829–30, Verdi had established himself as a leader of the Philharmonic: "none of us could rival him" reported the secretary of the organisation, Giuseppe Demaldè. An eight-movement cantata, I deliri di Saul , based on

1485-655: A scenario by the Egyptologist Auguste Mariette , was transformed into Italian verse by Antonio Ghislanzoni . Verdi was offered the enormous sum of 150,000 francs for the opera (even though he confessed that Ancient Egypt was "a civilization I have never been able to admire"), and it was first performed in Cairo in 1871. Verdi spent much of 1872 and 1873 supervising the Italian productions of Aida at Milan, Parma and Naples, effectively acting as producer and demanding high standards and adequate rehearsal time. During

1584-437: A scene change in as little as six seconds. Other machines that are still used in the theatre are purely for special effects, including a wave machine consisting of giant painted corkscrews that are turned to simulate a rough sea, a thunder machine to create storm sound effects, and a flying chair which is often used for " deus ex machina " effects. Lighting is controlled by turning metal sconces and their candles toward or away from

1683-419: A story "that should stir every man with an Italian soul in his breast". The premiere was set for late January 1849. Verdi travelled to Rome before the end of 1848. He found that city on the verge of becoming a (short-lived) republic , which commenced within days of La battaglia di Legnano ' s enthusiastically received premiere. In the spirit of the time were the tenor hero's final words, "Whoever dies for

1782-525: A strong incentive. Verdi came up with the idea of adapting the 1835 Spanish play Don Alvaro o la fuerza del sino by Angel Saavedra , which became La forza del destino , with Piave writing the libretto. The Verdis arrived in St. Petersburg in December 1861 for the premiere, but casting problems meant that it had to be postponed. Returning via Paris from Russia on 24 February 1862, Verdi met two young Italian writers,

1881-559: A village then part of Piedmont. On 29 August 1859, the couple were married there, with only the coachman who had driven them there and the church bell ringer as witnesses. At the end of 1859, Verdi wrote to his friend Cesare De Sanctis "[Since completing Ballo ] I have not made any more music, I have not seen any more music, I have not thought anymore about music. I don't even know what colour my last opera is, and I almost don't remember it." He began to remodel Sant'Agata, which took most of 1860 to complete and on which he continued to work for

1980-512: Is an inclusive list of opera festivals and summer opera seasons, and music festivals which have opera productions. This list may have some overlap with list of early music festivals . Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition, and has long been performed for audiences on a large-scale format. It started in Italy at the end of the 16th century and soon spread through the rest of Europe. In

2079-404: Is shaped like a T with the two thrones for the reigning monarchs placed in the cross of the T in front of the stage and the rest of the court seated on wooden benches. The stage is also unusually deep, 27 by 57 ft (8.2 by 17.4 m), which helped the set designers to create optical illusions of great distance on the stage. For scholars, the most important part of the theatre, however, is not

SECTION 20

#1732863343714

2178-467: The Italian Senate , but did not participate in its activities. In the months following the staging of Ballo , Verdi was approached by several opera companies seeking a new work or making offers to stage one of his existing ones but refused them all. But when, in December 1860, an approach was made from Saint Petersburg 's Imperial Theatre , the offer of 60,000 francs plus all expenses was doubtless

2277-696: The Paris Opéra . Verdi agreed to adapt I Lombardi to a new French libretto; the result was Jérusalem , which contained significant changes to the music and structure of the work (including an extensive ballet scene) to meet Parisian expectations. Verdi was awarded the Order of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour . To satisfy his contracts with the publisher Francesco Lucca  [ it ] , Verdi dashed off Il Corsaro . Budden comments "In no other opera of his does Verdi appear to have taken so little interest before it

2376-550: The Risorgimento movement which sought the unification of Italy. He also participated briefly as an elected politician. The chorus " Va, pensiero " from his early opera Nabucco (1842), and similar choruses in later operas, were much in the spirit of the unification movement, and the composer himself became esteemed as a representative of these ideals. An intensely private person, Verdi did not seek to ingratiate himself with popular movements. As he became professionally successful, he

2475-510: The "identification of Verdi's music with Italian nationalist politics" perhaps began in the 1840s. In 1848, the nationalist leader Giuseppe Mazzini (whom Verdi had met in London the previous year) requested Verdi (who complied) to write a patriotic hymn. The opera historian Charles Osborne describes the 1849 La battaglia di Legnano as "an opera with a purpose" and maintains that "while parts of Verdi's earlier operas had frequently been taken up by

2574-728: The 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe (except France), attracting foreign composers such as Handel . Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his "reform" operas in the 1760s. Today the most renowned figure of late 18th century opera is Mozart , and his music is at times the featured attraction of opera and early music festivals. The following lists may have some overlap: The following categories are related: Notes Sources Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( / ˈ v ɛər d i / ; Italian: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈverdi] ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901)

2673-572: The Busseto school with a three-year contract. He married Margherita in May 1836, and by March 1837, she had given birth to their first child, Virginia Maria Luigia on 26 March 1837. Icilio Romano followed on 11 July 1838. Both the children died young, Virginia on 12 August 1838, Icilio on 22 October 1839. In 1837, the young composer asked for Massini's assistance to stage his opera in Milan. The La Scala impresario, Bartolomeo Merelli , agreed to put on Oberto (as

2772-631: The Drottningholm Theatre. However, "the scenery was considered too fragile to accommodate a film crew. So the stage – complete with wings, curtains, and wind machines – was painstakingly copied and erected in the studios of the Swedish Film Institute ". Introductory exterior shots of the theatre are, however, visible in the film. 59°19.384′N 17°53.10′E  /  59.323067°N 17.88500°E  / 59.323067; 17.88500 List of opera festivals This

2871-555: The German master builder, Georg Greggenhofer  [ de ] (1718 or 1719–1779). The theatre opened in 1754 and hosted a new troupe of French actors, the Du Londel Troupe , that had been engaged by the court a year earlier and was to use the theatre until 1771. The troupe used the theatre in the summer months to show French theatre and Italian opera for the Queen and her court. When

2970-829: The Milanese for their reception of Un giorno di regno ". During this period, Verdi began to work more consistently with his librettists. He relied on Piave again for I due Foscari , performed in Rome in November 1844, then on Solera once more for Giovanna d'Arco , at La Scala in February 1845, while in August that year he was able to work with Salvadore Cammarano on Alzira for the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. Solera and Piave worked together on Attila for La Fenice (March 1846). In April 1844, Verdi took on Emanuele Muzio , eight years his junior, as

3069-547: The Milanese world of music that were to stand him in good stead. These included an introduction by Lavigna to an amateur choral group, the Società Filarmonica , led by Pietro Massini. Attending the Società frequently in 1834, Verdi soon found himself functioning as rehearsal director (for Rossini's La Cenerentola ) and continuo player. It was Massini who encouraged him to write his first opera, originally titled Rocester , to

Drottningholm Palace Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue

3168-507: The Neapolitan censor stating: "I'm drowning in a sea of troubles. It's almost certain that the censors will forbid our libretto." With no hope of seeing his Gustavo III staged as written, he broke his contract. This resulted in litigation and counter-litigation; with the legal issues resolved, Verdi was free to present the libretto and musical outline of Gustave III to the Rome Opera . There,

3267-590: The Opera, and the company's new director, Mary Skeaping , pushed the dancers to revive the 17th and 18th century court ballet style. In August 1998, a Gluck programme was staged, including Paris and Helen with Magdalena Kožená singing Paris, Alceste in the Italian version and the ballet Don Juan . The first new opera to be premiered at the theatre in modern times was Jonas Forssell's Trädgården (The Garden) in July 1999, conducted by Roy Goodman , with Malena Ernman in

3366-535: The Philharmonic Society was Antonio Barezzi  [ it ] , a wholesale grocer and distiller, who was described by a contemporary as a "manic dilettante" of music. The young Verdi did not immediately become involved with the Philharmonic. By June 1827, he had graduated with honours from the Ginnasio and was able to focus solely on music under Provesi. By chance, when he was 13, Verdi was asked to step in as

3465-664: The Swedish Ballet School. In 1935, the theatre began to host seasonal performances, starting with three ballad operas by Arvid Niclas von Höpken  [ sv ] , Joseph Martin Kraus and Carl Michael Bellman . In 1951, the Royal Swedish Opera became the permanent company performing in Drottningholm Theatre, using the space for their summer performances. In 1953, the Royal Swedish Ballet joined in partnership with

3564-638: The administration of his newly acquired property at Sant'Agata. A growing estrangement between Verdi and his parents was perhaps also attributable to Strepponi (the suggestion that this situation was sparked by the birth of a child to Verdi and Strepponi which was given away as a foundling lacks any firm evidence). In January 1851, Verdi broke off relations with his parents, and in April they were ordered to leave Sant'Agata; Verdi found new premises for them and helped them financially to settle into their new home. It may not be coincidental that all six Verdi operas written in

3663-410: The age of 26. Verdi adored his wife and children and was devastated by their early deaths. Un giorno , a comedy, was premiered only a few months later. It was a flop and only given one performance. Following its failure, it is claimed Verdi vowed never to compose again, but in his Sketch he recounts how Merelli persuaded him to write a new opera. Verdi was to claim that he gradually began to work on

3762-481: The architectural uniqueness of the space, but instead the stage machinery that is a rare surviving example of common stage effects from its time. The machinery for the theatre was possibly designed by the Italian Donato Stopani, although some historians think the designer may have been George Fröman, master builder for the court who studied similar stage machinery when he travelled through Europe in 1755. One of

3861-496: The boy to attend school in Busseto, enrolling him in a Ginnasio —an upper school for boys—run by Don Pietro Seletti, while they continued to run their inn at Le Roncole. Verdi returned to Busseto regularly to play the organ on Sundays, covering the distance of several kilometres on foot. At age 11, Verdi received schooling in Italian, Latin, the humanities, and rhetoric. By the time he was 12, he began lessons with Ferdinando Provesi , maestro di cappella at San Bartolomeo, director of

3960-404: The building is very plain in comparison to other palatial theatres, in the style of a country manor with no indication from the exterior that an opera house is inside. The interior, decorated by Adrien Masreliez , uses trompe l'oeil , papier-mâché , and stucco to imitate more expensive materials like marble and gold. The theatre is also architecturally unusual for its shape, since the auditorium

4059-453: The cafes, when we play cards...; all in all, he doesn't go anywhere without me at his side; in the house we have a big table and we both write there together, and so I always have his advice." Muzio was to remain associated with Verdi, assisting in the preparation of scores and transcriptions, and later conducting many of his works in their premiere performances in the US and elsewhere outside Italy. He

Drottningholm Palace Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue

4158-564: The cast. For Verdi, the performances were a personal triumph in his native region, especially as his father, Carlo, attended the first performance. Verdi remained in Parma for some weeks beyond his intended departure date. This fuelled speculation that the delay was due to Verdi's interest in Strepponi (who stated that their relationship began in 1843). Strepponi was in fact known for her amorous relationships (and many illegitimate children) and her history

4257-569: The censors demanded further changes; at this point, the opera took the title Un ballo in maschera . Arriving in Sant'Agata in March 1859 Verdi and Strepponi found the nearby city of Piacenza occupied by about 6,000 Austrian troops who had made it their base, to combat the rise of Italian interest in unification in the Piedmont region. In the ensuing Second Italian War of Independence the Austrians abandoned

4356-408: The censors. Verdi would not compromise: What does the sack matter to the police? Are they worried about the effect it will produce?...Do they think they know better than I?...I see the hero has been made no longer ugly and hunchbacked!! Why? A singing hunchback...why not?...I think it splendid to show this character as outwardly deformed and ridiculous, and inwardly passionate and full of love. I chose

4455-531: The composer or his librettists. In 1859, Verdi was elected as a member of the new provincial council, and was appointed to head a group of five who would meet with King Vittorio Emanuele II in Turin. They were enthusiastically greeted along the way and in Turin Verdi himself received much of the publicity. On 17 October Verdi met with Cavour , the architect of the initial stages of Italian unification. Later that year

4554-816: The composer's wrath. Nevertheless, he was to become Verdi's close collaborator in his final operas. The St. Petersburg premiere of La forza finally took place in September 1862, and Verdi received the Order of St. Stanislaus . A revival of Macbeth in Paris in 1865 was not a success, but he obtained a commission for a new work, Don Carlos , based on the play Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller . He and Giuseppina spent late 1866 and much of 1867 in Paris, where they heard, and did not warm to, Giacomo Meyerbeer's last opera, L'Africaine , and Richard Wagner 's overture to Tannhäuser . The opera's premiere in 1867 drew mixed comments. While

4653-506: The condition that after a few months I would resign." Verdi was elected on 3 February 1861 for the town of Borgo San Donnino ( Fidenza ) to the Parliament of Piedmont-Sardinia in Turin (which from March 1861 became the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy ), but following the death of Cavour in 1861, which deeply distressed him, he scarcely attended. Later, in 1874, Verdi was appointed a member of

4752-414: The country has become a mania, madness, rage, and fury—anything you like that is exaggerated. He gets up almost with the dawn, to go and examine the wheat, the maize, the vines, etc....Fortunately our tastes for this sort of life coincide, except in the matter of sunrise, which he likes to see up and dressed, and I from my bed." Nonetheless, on 15 May, Verdi signed a contract with La Fenice for an opera for

4851-523: The couple attended a performance of Alexander Dumas fils ' s play The Lady of the Camellias ; Verdi immediately began to compose music for what would later become La traviata . After his visit to Rome for Il trovatore in January 1853, Verdi worked on completing La traviata , but with little hope of its success, due to his lack of confidence in any of the singers engaged for the season. Furthermore,

4950-493: The court who did not stay at the palace, including Adelcrantz, the master of the revels, the noble chambermaids, the actors and staff of the theatre, and young aristocrats. The building that Adelcrantz created was unusual architecturally in several respects. Most notably, although the theatre was intended to mimic Versailles 's artistic style, the lack of funds of the Swedish Treasury forced a much sparser style. The exterior of

5049-679: The creation of twenty operas (excluding revisions and translations)—followed over the next sixteen years, culminating in Un ballo in maschera . This period was not without its frustrations and setbacks for the young composer, and he was frequently demoralised. In April 1845, in connection with I due Foscari , he wrote: "I am happy, no matter what reception it gets, and I am utterly indifferent to everything. I cannot wait for these next three years to pass. I have to write six operas, then addio to everything." In 1858 Verdi complained: "Since Nabucco , you may say, I have never had one hour of peace. Sixteen years in

SECTION 50

#1732863343714

5148-702: The critic Théophile Gautier praised the work, the composer Georges Bizet was disappointed at Verdi's changing style: "Verdi is no longer Italian. He is following Wagner." During the 1860s and 1870s, Verdi paid great attention to his estate around Busseto, purchasing additional land, dealing with unsatisfactory (in one case, embezzling) stewards, installing irrigation , and coping with variable harvests and economic slumps. In 1867, both Verdi's father Carlo, with whom he had restored good relations, and his early patron and father-in-law Antonio Barezzi, died. Verdi and Giuseppina decided to adopt Carlo's great-niece Filomena Maria Verdi, then seven years old, as their own child. She

5247-564: The cultural capital of northern Italy, where he applied unsuccessfully to study at the Conservatory . Barezzi made arrangements for him to become a private pupil of Vincenzo Lavigna  [ it ] , who had been maestro concertatore at La Scala , and who described Verdi's compositions as "very promising". Lavigna encouraged Verdi to take out a subscription to La Scala, where he heard Maria Malibran in operas by Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini . Verdi began making connections in

5346-482: The day he himself believed he was born. Verdi had a younger sister, Giuseppa, who died aged 17 in 1833. She is said to have been his closest friend during childhood. From age four Verdi was given private lessons in Latin and Italian by the village schoolmaster, Baistrocchi, and at six he attended the local school. After learning to play the organ, he showed so much interest in music that his parents finally provided him with

5445-504: The death of his mother in June 1851. The fact that this is "the one opera of Verdi's which focuses on a mother rather than a father" is perhaps related to her death. In the winter of 1851–52, Verdi decided to go to Paris with Strepponi, where he concluded an agreement with the Opéra to write what became Les vêpres siciliennes , his first original work in the style of grand opera . In February 1852,

5544-407: The fatherland cannot be evil-minded". Verdi had intended to return to Italy in early 1848, but was prevented by work and illness, as well as, most probably, by his increasing attachment to Strepponi. Verdi and Strepponi left Paris in July 1849, the immediate cause being an outbreak of cholera , and Verdi went directly to Busseto to continue work on completing his latest opera, Luisa Miller , for

5643-619: The fighters of the Risorgimento...this time the composer had given the movement its own opera" It was not until 1859 in Naples, and only then spreading throughout Italy, that the slogan "Viva Verdi" was used as an acronym for Viva V ittorio E manuele R e D ' I talia ( Viva Victor Emmanuel King of Italy) , (who was then king of Piedmont ). After Italy was unified in 1861, many of Verdi's early operas were increasingly re-interpreted as Risorgimento works with hidden Revolutionary messages that perhaps had not been originally intended by either

5742-413: The first opera he wrote without a specific commission (apart from Oberto ). At around the same time he began to consider creating an opera from Shakespeare's King Lear . After first (1850) seeking a libretto from Cammarano (which never appeared), Verdi later (1857) commissioned one from Antonio Somma , but this proved intractable, and no music was ever written. Verdi began work on Il trovatore after

5841-405: The following spring. This was to be Simon Boccanegra . The couple stayed in Paris until January 1857 to deal with these proposals, and also the offer to stage the translated version of Il trovatore as a grand opera. Verdi and Strepponi travelled to Venice in March for the premiere of Simon Boccanegra , which turned out to be "a fiasco" (as Verdi reported, although on the second and third nights,

5940-462: The galleys." After the initial success of Nabucco , Verdi settled in Milan, making a number of influential acquaintances. He attended the Salotto Maffei , Countess Clara Maffei 's salons in Milan, becoming her lifelong friend and correspondent. A revival of Nabucco followed in 1842 at La Scala where it received a run of fifty-seven performances, and this led to a commission from Merelli for

6039-576: The government of Emilia was subsumed under the United Provinces of Central Italy , and Verdi's political life temporarily came to an end. Whilst still maintaining nationalist feelings, he declined in 1860 the office of provincial council member to which he had been elected in absentia . Cavour however was anxious to convince a man of Verdi's stature that running for political office was essential to strengthening and securing Italy's future. The composer confided to Piave some years later that "I accepted on

SECTION 60

#1732863343714

6138-414: The illiterate peasants from which Verdi later liked to present himself as having emerged... Carlo Verdi was energetic in furthering his son's education...something which Verdi tended to hide in later life... [T]he picture emerges of youthful precocity eagerly nurtured by an ambitious father and of a sustained, sophisticated and elaborate formal education. In 1823, when he was 10, Verdi's parents arranged for

6237-403: The management insisted that the opera be given a historical, not a contemporary setting. The premiere in March 1853 was indeed a failure: Verdi wrote: "Was the fault mine or the singers'? Time will tell." Subsequent productions (following some rewriting) throughout Europe over the following two years fully vindicated the composer; Roger Parker has written " Il trovatore consistently remains one of

6336-534: The municipal music school and co-director of the local Società Filarmonica (Philharmonic Society). Verdi later stated: "From the ages of 13 to 18 I wrote a motley assortment of pieces: marches for band by the hundred, perhaps as many little sinfonie that were used in church, in the theatre and at concerts, five or six concertos and sets of variations for pianoforte, which I played myself at concerts, many serenades , cantatas ( arias , duets, very many trios) and various pieces of church music, of which I remember only

6435-447: The music for Nabucco , the libretto of which had originally been rejected by the composer Otto Nicolai : "This verse today, tomorrow that, here a note, there a whole phrase, and little by little the opera was written", he later recalled. By the autumn of 1841 it was complete, originally under the title Nabucodonosor . Well received at its first performance on 9 March 1842, Nabucco underpinned Verdi's success until his retirement from

6534-454: The next twenty years. This included major work on a square room that became his workroom, his bedroom, and his office. Having achieved some fame and prosperity, Verdi began in 1859 to take an active interest in Italian politics. His early commitment to the Risorgimento movement is difficult to estimate accurately; in the words of the music historian Philip Gossett "myths intensifying and exaggerating [such] sentiment began circulating" during

6633-469: The nineteenth century. An example is the claim that when the " Va, pensiero " chorus in Nabucco was first sung in Milan, the audience, responding with nationalistic fervour, demanded an encore. As encores were expressly forbidden by the government at the time, such a gesture would have been extremely significant. But in fact the piece encored was not "Va, pensiero" but the hymn "Immenso Jehova". The growth of

6732-413: The opera, and rehearsed the tenor separately. For several months Verdi was preoccupied with family matters. These stemmed from the way in which the citizens of Busseto were treating Giuseppina Strepponi, with whom he was living openly in an unmarried relationship. She was shunned in the town and at church, and while Verdi appeared indifferent, she was certainly not. Furthermore, Verdi was concerned about

6831-676: The original equipment. The theatre remains a place to train musicians, dancers, and opera singers in Baroque style. In 1991, the theatre, along with the Drottningholm Palace (the residence of the Swedish royal family), the Chinese Pavilion and the surrounding park, became the first Swedish patrimony to be inscribed in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites . Parts of the palace, the pavilion and

6930-414: The original theatre burned down on 27 August 1762 during the performance of a comic opera, Queen Lovisa Ulrika quickly decided to rebuild a theatre for the Drottningholm Palace court, commissioning a replacement opera house by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz . Work began on the building in 1764, and it eventually included the theatre as well as a complex of smaller chambers off the main auditorium to house members of

7029-508: The period 1849–1853 ( La battaglia, Luisa Miller, Stiffelio, Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La traviata ), have, uniquely in his oeuvre, heroines who are, in the opera critic Joseph Kerman's words, "women who come to grief because of sexual transgression, actual or perceived". Kerman, like the psychologist Gerald Mendelssohn, sees this choice of subjects as being influenced by Verdi's uneasy passion for Strepponi. Verdi and Strepponi moved into Sant'Agata on 1 May 1851. May also brought an offer for

7128-430: The premiere on 22 July 1847 at Her Majesty's Theatre , as well as the second performance. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert attended the first performance, and for the most part, the press was generous in its praise. For the next two years, except for two visits to Italy during periods of political unrest, Verdi was based in Paris. Within a week of returning to Paris in July 1847, he received his first commission from

7227-399: The reception improved considerably). With Strepponi, Verdi went to Naples early in January 1858 to work with Somma on the libretto of the opera Gustave III , which over a year later would become Un ballo in maschera . By this time, Verdi had begun to write about Strepponi as "my wife" and she was signing her letters as "Giuseppina Verdi". Verdi raged against the stringent requirements of

7326-482: The region and began to leave Lombardy, although they remained in control of the Venice region under the terms of the armistice signed at Villafranca . Verdi was disgusted at this outcome: "[W]here then is the independence of Italy, so long hoped for and promised?...Venice is not Italian? After so many victories, what an outcome... It is enough to drive one mad" he wrote to Clara Maffei. Verdi and Strepponi now decided on marriage; they travelled to Collonges-sous-Salève ,

7425-425: The reworked opera was now called, with a libretto rewritten by Temistocle Solera ) in November 1839. It achieved a respectable 13 additional performances, following which Merelli offered Verdi a contract for three more works. In 1838-1839 Verdi published his first music with the Milan publisher Giovanni Canti . While Verdi was working on his second opera Un giorno di regno , Margherita died of encephalitis at

7524-414: The same vein to Countess Maffei he stated: "I'm not doing anything. I don't read. I don't write. I walk in the fields from morning to evening, trying to recover, so far without success, from the stomach trouble caused me by I vespri siciliani . Cursed operas!" An 1858 letter by Strepponi to the publisher Léon Escudier describes the kind of lifestyle that increasingly appealed to the composer: "His love for

7623-414: The stage machines that is still intact and in use in the theatre is the chariot-and-pole system, which helps to change scenes quickly by sliding the wings with wheels ("chariots") on tracks in the floor, controlled by a capstan under the stage ("pole"). The theatre has an unusually large number of wings, with a total of four possible scene changes in a single performance, but the chariot-and-pole system allows

7722-499: The stage. In 1766, the theatre was opened by Queen Lovisa Ulrika, and there were several performances that included court members and the royal family as actors celebrating the occasion. The theatre was used every summer by the court until 1771, when Adolf Frederik died and the French acting troupe he had imported was dismissed. The theatre remained unused until 1777, when Queen Lovisa Ulrika gave it to her son King Gustav III . King Gustav

7821-505: The subject for these very qualities...if they are removed I can no longer set it to music. Verdi substituted a Duke for the King, and the public response and subsequent success of the opera all over Italy and Europe fully vindicated the composer. Aware that the melody of the Duke's song " La donna è mobile " ("Woman is fickle") would become a popular hit, Verdi excluded it from orchestral rehearsals for

7920-550: The theatre are open to the public for tours. Recent artistic directors of the theatre are Arnold Östman (1980–92), Elisabeth Söderström (1993–96), Per-Erik Öhrn (1996–2006). Mark Tatlow (2007–2013). Sofi Lerström  [ sv ] , the theatre's managing director from 2011, took over as artistic director in 2013. It is under her direction that took place a widely acclaimed (then touring) "Mozart – Da Ponte Trilogy" conducted by Marc Minkowski and staged by Ivan A. Alexandre  [ fr ] . Mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg

8019-564: The theatre building itself, adding the Dejeuner Salon that is used as the foyer today. After the assassination of King Gustav III in 1792 (which is the basis of the Giuseppe Verdi opera, Un ballo in maschera ), the theatre was used as a storage room for Drottningholm Palace's unused furniture. In 1921, Swedish theatre historian Agne Beijer  [ sv ] rediscovered Drottningholm Theatre and, with royal permission, preserved what

8118-731: The theatre, twenty-nine operas (including some revised and updated versions) later. At its revival in La Scala for the 1842 autumn season it was given an unprecedented (and later unequalled) total of 57 performances; within three years it had reached (among other venues) Vienna, Lisbon, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris and Hamburg; in 1848 it was heard in New York, in 1850 in Buenos Aires. Porter comments that "similar accounts...could be provided to show how widely and rapidly all [Verdi's] other successful operas were disseminated." A period of hard work for Verdi—with

8217-558: The three or four most popular operas in the Verdian repertoire: but it has never pleased the critics". In the eleven years up to and including Traviata , Verdi had written sixteen operas. Over the next eighteen years (up to Aida ), he wrote only six new works for the stage. Verdi was happy to return to Sant'Agata and, in February 1856, was reporting a "total abandonment of music; a little reading; some light occupation with agriculture and horses; that's all". A couple of months later, writing in

8316-477: The trouser role of Ziöberg. Today, a private foundation, the Drottningholm Theatre Museum, funded by government and private grants, runs the theatre, performing operas in the summer months. The operas are often performed by musicians wearing period costume, and the orchestra performs using period or copies of authentic instruments. Most productions demonstrate some of the possible stage effects using

8415-478: The twenty-year-old Arrigo Boito and Franco Faccio . Verdi had been invited to write a piece of music for the 1862 International Exhibition in London, and charged Boito with writing a text, which became the Inno delle nazioni . Boito, as a supporter of the grand opera of Giacomo Meyerbeer and an opera composer in his own right, was later in the 1860s critical of Verdi's "reliance on formula rather than form", incurring

8514-494: Was able to reduce his operatic workload and sought to establish himself as a landowner in his native region. He surprised the musical world by returning, after his success with the opera Aida (1871), with three late masterpieces: his Requiem (1874), and the operas Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893). His operas remain extremely popular, especially the three peaks of his 'middle period': Rigoletto , Il trovatore and La traviata . The bicentenary of his birth in 2013

8613-513: Was an Italian composer best known for his operas . He was born near Busseto , a small town in the province of Parma , to a family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the help of a local patron, Antonio Barezzi. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera scene after the era of Gioachino Rossini , Vincenzo Bellini , and Gaetano Donizetti , whose works significantly influenced him. In his early operas, Verdi demonstrated sympathy with

8712-404: Was an awkward factor in their relationship until they eventually agreed on marriage. After successful stagings of Nabucco in Venice (with twenty-five performances in the 1842/43 season), Verdi began negotiations with the impresario of La Fenice to stage I Lombardi , and to write a new opera. Eventually, Victor Hugo's Hernani was chosen, with Francesco Maria Piave as librettist. Ernani

8811-650: Was artist in residence in 2019 and 2020. Her choice of repertoire for 2019 was Ariodante conducted by Ian Page. A copy of the theatre is visible in Ingmar Bergman 's 1975 film version of The Magic Flute . According to film historian Peter Cowie 's notes for the DVD release of the film, Bergman wanted to recreate as closely as possible the original 1791 production in the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, and originally hoped to film in

8910-621: Was chosen by Verdi as one of the executors of his will but predeceased the composer in 1890. After a period of illness, Verdi began work on Macbeth in September 1846. He dedicated the opera to Barezzi: "I have long intended to dedicate an opera to you, as you have been a father, a benefactor and a friend for me. It was a duty I should have fulfilled sooner if imperious circumstances had not prevented me. Now, I send you Macbeth , which I prize above all my other operas, and therefore deem worthier to present to you." In 1997 Martin Chusid wrote that Macbeth

9009-414: Was deeply interested in the theatre, hiring an acting troupe, and even writing and directing several works at Drottningholm. The theatre that was performed under King Gustav was a departure from the theatre of his predecessors, since although French and Italian theatre was still performed, he encouraged the use of Swedish stories and language to create a new operatic tradition. He also made some alterations to

9108-594: Was left of the theatre's interior and stage machinery. Some small changes were made, including the addition of electric lights, which were designed to flicker like candles, the replacement of the original ropes that moved the machinery, and the substitution of replicas for delicate backdrops. Most of the theatre, however, was unchanged from the original design, and much of the stucco work and original wallpaper remains today. The theatre re-opened on 19 August 1922. Until 1935, performances were limited to occasional showcases for visiting scholars, usually including dances performed by

9207-505: Was musical director) to oversee a production of Nabucco . The older composer, recognising Verdi's talent, noted in a letter of January 1844: "I am very, very happy to give way to people of talent like Verdi... Nothing will prevent the good Verdi from soon reaching one of the most honourable positions in the cohort of composers." Verdi travelled on to Parma, where the Teatro Regio di Parma was producing Nabucco with Giuseppina Strepponi in

9306-457: Was paid 12,000 lire (including supervision of the productions); Attila and Macbeth (1847), each brought him 18,000 lire. His contracts with the publishers Ricordi in 1847 were very specific about the amounts he was to receive for new works, first productions, musical arrangements, and so on. He began to use his growing prosperity to invest in land near his birthplace. In 1844 he purchased "Il Pulgaro", 62 acres (23 hectares) of farmland with

9405-452: Was staged." On hearing the news of the "Cinque Giornate", the "Five Days" of street fighting that took place between 18 and 22 March 1848 and temporarily drove the Austrians out of Milan, Verdi travelled there, arriving on 5 April. He discovered that Piave was now "Citizen Piave" of the newly proclaimed Republic of San Marco . Writing a patriotic letter to him in Venice, Verdi concluded "Banish every petty municipal idea! We must all extend

9504-419: Was successfully premiered in 1844 and within six months had been performed at twenty other theatres in Italy, and also in Vienna. The writer Andrew Porter notes that for the next ten years, Verdi's life "reads like a travel diary—a timetable of visits...to bring new operas to the stage or to supervise local premieres". La Scala premiered none of these new works, except for Giovanna d'Arco . Verdi "never forgave

9603-542: Was the only one of Verdi's operas of his "early period" to remain regularly in the international repertoire, although in the 21st century Nabucco has also entered the lists. Strepponi's voice declined and her engagements dried up in the 1845 to 1846 period, and she returned to live in Milan whilst retaining contact with Verdi as his "supporter, promoter, unofficial adviser, and occasional secretary" until she decided to move to Paris in October 1846. Before she left Verdi gave her

9702-589: Was to marry in 1878 the son of Verdi's friend and lawyer Angelo Carrara and her family became eventually the heirs of Verdi's estate. Aida was commissioned by the Egyptian government for the opera house built by the Khedive Isma'il Pasha to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The opera house actually opened with a production of Rigoletto . The prose libretto in French by Camille du Locle , based on

9801-823: Was widely celebrated around the world in broadcasts and performances. Verdi, the first child of Carlo Giuseppe Verdi and Luigia Uttini, was born at their home in Le Roncole , a village near Busseto , then in the Département Taro and within the borders of the First French Empire . The baptismal register, prepared on 11 October 1813, lists his parents Carlo and Luigia as "innkeeper" and "spinner" respectively. Additionally, it lists Verdi as being "born yesterday", but since days were often considered to begin at sunset, this could have meant either 9 or 10 October. Following his mother, Verdi always celebrated his birthday on 9 October,

#713286