Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Verdi, composer of Italian romantic opera, was born in Le Roncole, near Parma, on October 10, 1813, the son of an innkeeper. His first formal musical studies were with the organist Ferdinando Provesi in the nearby town of Busseto, where he attended school. Verdi lived in Busseto in the home of the merchant Antonio Barezzi, who supported him financially and whose daughter Margherita was to become his first wife. In 1832 he applied for admission to the Milan Conservatory, but he was refused because he was over the age limit. He pursued private studies in Milan with Vincenzo Lavigna until 1835, when he returned to the post of organist in Busseto. After 3 years his desire to write for the theater brought him back to Milan, where his first opera, Oberto, was performed in 1839. The death of his wife and both his children in the space of 22 months (1838-40) interrupted Verdi's career, but in 1842 he was induced by his Milan producer to write Nabucco, the opera that brought him his first great success. For a decade thereafter he was sought by all the great opera houses of Italy, and he produced 18 operas in 15 years, culminating in Rigoletto (1851), Il Trovatore (The Troubador, 1853), and La Traviata (The Wrongdoer, 1853).
Budden, Julian, The Operas of Verdi, 2 vols. (1973, 1978); Gatti, Carlo, Verdi: The Man and His Music, trans. by Elizabeth Abbott (1955); Godefroy, Vincent, The Dramatic Genius of Verdi, 2 vols. (1975, 1978); Kimbell, David R., Verdi in the Age of Italian Romanticism (1985); Martin, George, Verdi: His Music, Life and Times (1963); Osborne, Charles, The Complete Operas of Verdi (1969); Walker, Frank, The Man Verdi (1962); Weaver, William, Verdi: A Documentary Study (1977); Weaver, William, and Chusid, Martin, eds., The Verdi Companion (1979) Il
Rigoletto - 2 CD Artist(s) Ensemble Metropolitan
Opera Chorus Rigoletto: Atto primo 02. Act One, Scene One: No.2 Intro: Della Mia Bella Incognita Borghese 03. Act One, Scene One: No.2 Intro: Questa O Quella 04. Act One, Scene One: No.2 Intro: Partite?...Crudele! 05. Act One, Scene One: No.2 Intro: Gran Nuova! Gran Nuova! Rigoletto: Atto secondo 01. Act Two, No.8 Scena Ed Aria: Ella Mi Fu Rapita! 02. Act Two, No.8 Scena Ed Aria: Parmi Veder Le Lagrime 03. Act Two, No.8 Scena Ed Aria: Duca, Duca!/Ebben? 04. Act Two, No.8 Scena Ed Aria: Possente Amor Mi Chiama 05. Act Two, No.9 Scena Ed Aria: Provero Rigoletto! RIGOLETTO is a masterpiece of Verdi's early mid-career, when his aim was to shake the opera world with works of visceral force based on unpretty, seemingly unoperatic subjects. It tells a lurid tale of sexual libertinism, deceit and murder, centering on the hunchback Rigoletto, who is not a noble character. Even the most beloved of its arias, "La Donna e mobile," disdainfully rips womankind. Of course this is the young Verdi in full flower, the unpleasantness is brilliantly calculated and it's all delivered with unforgettable impact. In this performance we have James Levine and his Metropolitan Opera forces, a cast led by Vladimir Chernov in the title role, Cheryl Studer as Gilda and Luciano Pavarotti as the Duke for the third time on record. With such players you'd expect knowing competence, and you get it. Chernov has a beautiful baritone, lacking just a measure of malevolence. Studer is lovely and moving in a role for which she is not known, and Pavarotti holds his substantial own in a role for which he is. The sound is excellent, both full and detailed. REVIEWS Gramophone (11/98, pp.115-18) - "...The performance is lively, distinguished in quality if not in kind, with vivid sound, and two principal singers whose appearance in their roles excites interest....Levine and his company could hardly fail to come up with an enjoyable 'Rigoletto'..." |