Editing Giuseppe Verdi (section)

==Music==
{{see also|List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi}}

===Spirit===

[[File:Giuseppe Verdi 1879 Vanity Fair illustration by Théobald Chartran.jpg|thumb|upright|Giuseppe Verdi in ''[[Vanity Fair (UK)|Vanity Fair]]'' (1879)]]
The writer [[Friedrich Schiller]] (four of whose plays were adapted as operas by Verdi) distinguished two types of artists in his 1795 essay ''[[On Naïve and Sentimental Poetry]]''. The philosopher [[Isaiah Berlin]] ranked Verdi in the 'naïve' category—"They are not...self-conscious. They do not...stand aside to contemplate their creations and express their own feelings....They are able...if they have genius, to embody their vision fully." (The 'sentimentals' seek to recreate nature and natural feelings on their own terms—Berlin instances [[Richard Wagner]]—"offering not peace, but a sword".){{sfn|Berlin|1979|pp=3–4}} Verdi's operas are not written according to an aesthetic theory, or with a purpose to change the tastes of their audiences. In conversation with a German visitor in 1887 he is recorded as saying that, whilst "there was much to be admired in [Wagner's operas] ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' and ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]''...in his recent operas [Wagner] seemed to be overstepping the bounds of what can be expressed in music. For him "philosophical" music was incomprehensible."{{sfn|Conati|1986|p=147}} Although Verdi's works belong, as Rosselli admits "to the most artificial of genres...[they] ring emotionally true: truth and directness make them exciting, often hugely so."{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=1}}

===Periods===
The earliest study of Verdi's music, published in 1859 by the Italian critic [[Abramo Basevi]], already distinguished four periods in Verdi's music. The early, 'grandiose' period, ended according to Basevi with ''La battaglia di Legnano'' (1849), and a 'personal' style began with the next opera ''Luisa Miller''. These two operas are generally agreed today by critics to mark the division between Verdi's 'early' and 'middle' periods. The 'middle' period is felt to end with ''La traviata'' (1853) and ''[[Les vêpres siciliennes]]'' (1855), with a 'late' period commencing with ''[[Simon Boccanegra]]'' (1857) running through to ''[[Aida]]'' (1871). The last two operas, ''[[Otello]]'' and ''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]'', together with the [[Requiem (Verdi)|Requiem]] and the ''Four Sacred Pieces'', then represent a 'final' period.{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=639}}

====Early period====
Verdi was to claim in his ''Sketch'' that during his early training with Lavigna "I did nothing but [[canon (music)|canons]] and [[fugue]]s...No-one taught me [[orchestration]] or how to handle dramatic music."{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=636}} He is known to have written a variety of music for the Busseto Philharmonic society, including vocal music, band music and chamber works,{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=637}} (and including an alternative overture to Rossini's ''[[Barber of Seville]]''){{sfn|Budden|1993|p=5}} but few of these works survive. (He may have given instructions before his death to destroy his early works).{{sfn|Gossett|2008|p=161}}

[[File:Macbeth-meets the witches.jpg|thumb|left|Macbeth meets the witches (Act I, scene 1)]]Verdi uses in his early operas (and, in his own stylized versions, throughout his later work) the standard elements of Italian opera content of the period, referred to by the opera writer [[Julian Budden]] as the 'Code Rossini', after the composer who established through his work and popularity the accepted templates of these forms; they were also used by the composers dominant during Verdi's early career, Bellini, Donizetti and [[Saverio Mercadante]]. Amongst the essential elements are the [[aria]], the [[duet]], the ensemble, and the [[finale (music)|finale]] sequence of an act.{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|pp=15–16}} The aria format, centred on a soloist, typically involved three sections; a slow introduction, marked typically [[cantabile]] or [[Tempo#Basic tempo markings|adagio]], a ''tempo di mezzo'' which might involve chorus or other characters, and a [[cabaletta]], an opportunity for [[bravura]] singing for the soloist. The duet was similarly formatted. Finales, covering climactic sequences of action, used the various forces of soloists, ensemble and chorus, usually culminating with an exciting [[stretto]] section. Verdi was to develop these and the other formulae of the generation preceding him with increasing sophistication during his career.{{sfn|Balthazar|2004|pp=49–59}}{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§4 (ii)}}

The operas of the early period show Verdi learning by doing and gradually establishing mastery over the different elements of opera. ''Oberto'' is poorly structured, and the orchestration of the first operas is generally simple, sometimes even basic.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§4 (vii)}} The musicologist [[Richard Taruskin]] suggested "the most striking effect in the early Verdi operas, and the one most obviously allied to the mood of the Risorgimento, was the big choral number sung—crudely or sublimely, according to the ear of the beholder—in [[unison]]. The success of "Va, pensiero" in ''Nabucco'' (which Rossini approvingly denoted as "a grand aria sung by sopranos, contraltos, tenors and basses"), was replicated in the similar "O Signor, dal tetto natio" in ''I lombardi'' and in 1844 in the chorus "Si ridesti il Leon di Castiglia" in ''Ernani'', the battle hymn of the conspirators seeking freedom.{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|pp=570–575}}{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=21}} In ''I due Foscari'' Verdi first uses recurring themes identified with main characters; here and in future operas the accent moves away from the '[[oratorio]]' characteristics of the first operas towards individual action and intrigue.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§4 (vii)}}

From this period onwards Verdi also develops his instinct for "tinta" (literally 'colour'), a term which he used for characterising elements of an individual opera score—Parker gives as an example "the rising [[Major sixth|6th]] that begins so many lyric pieces in ''[[Ernani]]''".{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§4 (iv)}} ''[[Macbeth (Verdi)|Macbeth]]'', even in its original 1847 version, shows many original touches; characterization by [[key (music)|key]] (the Macbeths themselves generally singing in [[sharp (music)|sharp]] keys, the witches in [[flat (music)|flat]] keys),{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§4 (iv)}} a preponderance of [[minor key]] music, and highly original orchestration. In the 'dagger scene' and the duet following the murder of Duncan, the forms transcend the 'Code Rossini' and compellingly propel the drama.{{sfn|Budden|1993|pp=190–192}} Verdi was to comment in 1868 that Rossini and his followers missed "the golden thread that binds all the parts together and, rather than a set of numbers without coherence, makes an opera". ''Tinta'' was for Verdi this "golden thread", an essential unifying factor in his works.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=95}}
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====Middle period====
[[File:Rigoletto premiere stage set for Act 1, Scene 2.jpg|thumb|Stage set by Giuseppe Bertoja for the premiere of ''Rigoletto'' (Act 1, Scene 2)]]
The writer David Kimbell states that in ''Luisa Miller'' and ''Stiffelio'' (the earliest operas of this period) there appears to be a "growing freedom in the large scale structure...and an acute attention to fine detail".{{sfn|Chusid|1997|p=1}} Others echo those feelings. Julian Budden expresses the impact of ''Rigoletto'' and its place in Verdi's output as follows: "Just after 1850 at the age of 38, Verdi closed the door on a period of Italian opera with ''Rigoletto''. The so-called ''ottocento'' in music is finished. Verdi will continue to draw on certain of its forms for the next few operas, but in a totally new spirit."{{sfn|Budden|1984a|p=510}} One example of Verdi's wish to move away from "standard forms" appears in his feelings about the structure of ''Il trovatore''. To his librettist, Cammarano, Verdi plainly states in a letter of April 1851 that if there were no standard forms—"cavatinas, duets, trios, choruses, finales, etc. ... and if you could avoid beginning with an opening chorus....", he would be quite happy.{{sfn|Budden|1984b|p=61}}

Two external factors had their impacts on Verdi's compositions of this period. One is that with increasing reputation and financial security he no longer needed to commit himself to the productive treadmill, had more freedom to choose his own subjects, and had more time to develop them according to his own ideas. In the years 1849 to 1859, he wrote eight new operas, compared with fourteen in the previous ten years.{{sfn|Chusid|1997|p=3}}

Another factor was the changed political situation; the failure of the 1848 revolutions led both to some diminution of the Risorgimento ethos (at least initially) and a significant increase in theatre censorship.{{sfn|Chusid|1997|p=3}} This is reflected both in Verdi's choices of plots dealing more with personal relationships than political conflict, and in a (partly consequent) dramatic reduction in the operas of this period in the number of choruses (of the type which had first made him famous)—not only are there on average 40% fewer choruses in the 'middle' period operas compared to the 'early' period', but whereas virtually all the 'early' operas commence with a chorus, only one (''Luisa Miller'') of the 'middle' period operas begin this way. Instead, Verdi experiments with a variety of means, e.g. a stage band (''Rigoletto''), an aria for [[bass (voice type)|bass]] (''Stiffelio''), a party scene (''La traviata''). Chusid also notes Verdi's increasing tendency to replace full-scale overtures with shorter orchestral introductions.{{sfn|Chusid|1997|pp=9–11}} Parker comments that ''La traviata'', the last opera of the 'middle' period, is "again a new adventure. It gestures towards a level of '[[Realism (arts)|realism]]'...the contemporary world of [[waltz]]es pervades the score, and the heroine's death from disease is graphically depicted in the music."{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§4 (vi)}} Verdi's increasing command of musical highlighting of changing moods and relationships is exemplified in act 3 of ''Rigoletto'', where Duke's flippant song "La donna è mobile" is followed immediately by the quartet "Bella figlia dell'amore", contrasting the rapacious Duke and his inamorata with the (concealed) indignant Rigoletto and his grieving daughter. Taruskin asserts this is "the most famous ensemble Verdi ever composed".{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|p=587}}

====Late period====
[[File:Vesper2.jpg|upright|thumb|right|''Les vêpres siciliennes'': poster for the premiere (1855)]] Chusid notes Strepponi's description of the operas of the 1860s and 1870s as being "modern" whereas Verdi described the pre-1849 works as "the [[cavatina]] operas", as further indication that "Verdi became increasingly dissatisfied with the older, familiar conventions of his predecessors that he had adopted at the outset of his career,"{{sfn|Chusid|1997|p=2}} Parker sees a physical differentiation of the operas from ''Les vêpres siciliennes'' (1855) to ''Aida'' (1871) is that they are significantly longer, and with larger cast-lists, than previous works. They also reflect a shift towards the French genre of grand opera, notable in more colourful orchestration, counterpointing of serious and comic scenes, and greater spectacle.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§6 (i)}} The opportunities of transforming Italian opera by utilising such resources appealed to him. For a commission from the Paris Opéra he expressly demanded a libretto from [[Eugène Scribe]], the favourite librettist of Meyerbeer, telling him: "I want—in fact, I must have—a grandiose, impassioned and original subject." The result was ''Les vêpres siciliennes'', and the scenarios of ''Simon Boccanegra'' (1857), ''Un ballo in maschera'' (1859), ''La forza del destino'' (1862), ''Don Carlos'' (1867) and ''Aida'' (1871) all meet the same criteria. Porter notes that ''Un ballo'' marks an almost complete synthesis of Verdi's style with the grand opera hallmarks, such that "huge spectacle is not mere decoration but essential to the drama...musical and theatrical lines remain taut [and] the characters still sing as warmly, passionately and personally as in ''Il trovatore''."{{sfn|Porter|1980|pp=653–655}}

When the composer [[Ferdinand Hiller]] asked Verdi whether he preferred ''Aida'' or ''Don Carlos'', Verdi replied that ''Aida'' had "more bite and (if you'll forgive the word), more ''theatricality''".{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=272}} During the rehearsals for the Naples production of ''Aida'' Verdi amused himself by writing his only string quartet, a sprightly work which shows in its last movement that he had not lost the skill for fugue-writing that he had learned with Lavigna.{{sfn|Budden|1993|pp=310–311}}

====Final works====
[[File:Verdi conducting Aida in Paris 1880 - Gallica - Restoration.jpg|thumb|alt=Drawing of Verdi conducting an orchestra|upright|Verdi conducting the [[Paris Opera]] premiere of ''Aida'' in 1880]]
Verdi's three last major works continued to show new developments in conveying drama and emotion. The first to appear, in 1874 was his Requiem, scored for operatic forces but by no means an "opera in ecclesiastical dress" (the words in which [[Hans von Bülow]] condemned it before even hearing it).{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§7}} Although in the Requiem Verdi puts to use many of the techniques he learned in opera, its musical forms and emotions are not those of the stage.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=161–162}} Verdi's tone painting at the opening of the Requiem is vividly described by the Italian composer [[Ildebrando Pizzetti]], writing in 1941: "in [the words] murmured by an invisible crowd over the slow swaying of a few simple chords, you straightaway sense the fear and sadness of a vast multitude before the mystery of death. In the [following] ''Et lux perpetuum'' the melody spreads it wings...before falling back on itself...you hear a sigh for consolation and eternal peace."{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=320}}

By the time ''Otello'' premièred in 1887, more than 15 years after ''Aida'', the operas of Verdi's (predeceased) contemporary Richard Wagner had begun their ascendancy in popular taste, and many sought or identified Wagnerian aspects in Verdi's latest composition.{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|pp=602–603}} Budden points out that there is little in the music of ''Otello'' that relates either to the ''[[verismo]]'' opera of the younger Italian composers, and little if anything which can be construed as a homage to the [[New German School]].{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=281}} Nonetheless, there is still much originality, building on the strengths which Verdi had already demonstrated; the powerful storm which opens the opera ''[[in medias res]]'', the recollection of the love duet of Act I in Otello's dying words (more an aspect of ''tinta'' than ''[[leitmotif]]''), imaginative touches of harmony in Iago's "Era la notte" (Act II).{{sfn|Budden|1993|pp=282–284}}

Finally, six years later, appeared ''Falstaff'', Verdi's only comedy apart from the early, ill-fated ''Un giorno di regno''. In this work, Roger Parker writes that:
:"The listener is bombarded by a stunning diversity of rhythms, orchestral textures, melodic motifs and harmonic devices. Passages that in earlier times would have furnished material for an entire number here crowd in on each other, shouldering themselves unceremoniously to the fore in bewildering succession".{{sfn|Parker|1998|p=229}} Rosselli comments: "In ''Otello'' Verdi had miniaturized the forms of romantic Italian opera; in ''Falstaff'' he miniaturized himself...[M]oments...crystallize a feeling...as though an aria or duet had been precipitated into a phrase."{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=182}}
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