Editing Giuseppe Verdi (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Verdi by Giovanni Boldini.jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi]]'' (1886) by [[Giovanni Boldini]]]]

===Reception===
Although Verdi's operas brought him a popular following, not all contemporary critics approved of his work. The English critic [[Henry Chorley]] allowed in 1846 that "he is the only modern man...having a style—for better or worse", but found all his output unacceptable. "[His] faults [are] grave ones, calculated to destroy and degrade taste beyond those of any Italian composer in the long list" wrote Chorley, whilst conceding that "howsoever incomplete may have been his training, howsoever mistaken his aspirations may have proved...he ''has'' aspired."{{sfn|Chorley|1972|pp=182, 185–186}} But by the time of Verdi's death, 55 years later, his reputation was assured, and the 1910 edition of [[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians#Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians |''Grove's Dictionary'']] pronounced him "one of the greatest and most popular opera composers of the nineteenth century".{{sfn|Mazzucato|1910|p=247}}

Verdi had no pupils apart from Muzio and no school of composers sought to follow his style. By his death, ''[[Verismo (music)|verismo]]'' was the accepted style of young Italian composers.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§10 (ii)}} The [[New York Metropolitan Opera]] frequently staged ''Rigoletto, Trovatore'' and ''Traviata'' during this period and featured ''Aida'' in every season from 1898 to 1945. Interest in the operas reawakened in mid-1920s Germany and this sparked a revival in England and elsewhere. From the 1930s onward there began to appear scholarly biographies and publications of documentation and correspondence.{{sfn|Harwood|2004|p=272}}

In 1959 the Instituto di Studi Verdiani (from 1989 the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani) was founded in Parma and became a leading centre for research and publication of Verdi studies,<ref>[http://www.studiverdiani.it/presentazione_en.html "Who we are"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425231316/http://www.studiverdiani.it/presentazione_en.html |date=25 April 2016 }} website of the Istituto di studi verdiani, accessed 27 June 2015.</ref> and in the 1970s the American Institute for Verdi Studies was founded at [[New York University]].<ref>[http://www.nyu.edu/projects/verdi/ "American Institute for Verdi Studies"] at NYU website, accessed 27 June 2015.</ref>{{sfn|Harwood|2004|p=273}}

===Nationalism in the operas===
Historians have debated how political Verdi's operas were. In particular, the ''[[Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves]]'' (known as ''Va, pensiero'') from the third act of the opera ''[[Nabucco]]'' was used an anthem for Italian patriots, who were seeking to unify their country and free it from foreign control in the years up to 1861 (the chorus's theme of exiles singing about their homeland, and its lines such as ''O mia patria, si bella e perduta'' / "O my country, so lovely and so lost" were thought to have resonated with many Italians).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/NATMUSIC.html |title=Modern History Sourcebook: Music and Nationalism |publisher=Fordham.edu |access-date=31 May 2015}}</ref> Beginning in Naples in 1859 and spreading throughout Italy, the slogan "Viva VERDI" was used as an acronym for '''''Viva''' '''V'''ittorio '''E'''manuele '''R'''e '''D'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>'''I'''talia'' (''Long live Victor Emmanuel King of Italy''), referring to [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel II]].{{sfn|Parker|1998|p=942}}{{sfn|Budden|1984c|p=80}} Marco Pizzo argues that after 1815, music became a political tool, and many songwriters expressed ideals of freedom and equality. Pizzo claims that Verdi was part of this movement, for his operas were inspired by the love of country, the struggle for Italian independence, and spoke to the sacrifice of patriots and exiles.<ref>Marco Pizzo, "Verdi, Musica e Risorgimento," ''Rassegna Storica del Risorgimento'' (2001) 87 supplement 4 pp. 37–44</ref> George Martin claims Verdi was "the greatest artist" of the [[Risorgimento]]. "Throughout his work its values, its issues recur constantly, and he expressed them with great power".<ref>{{cite book|author=George Whitney Martin|title=Aspects of Verdi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5nN5c9144XwC&pg=PA3|year=1988|publisher=Limelight Editions|pages=3–4|isbn=978-0-87910-172-5}}</ref>

But [[Mary Ann Smart]] argues that music critics at the time seldom mentioned any political themes.<ref>[[Mary Ann Smart]], "Verdi, Italian Romanticism, and the Risorgimento," in {{harvnb|Balthazar|2004|pages=29–45}}</ref><ref>[[Mary Ann Smart]], "How political were Verdi's operas? Metaphors of progress in the reception of ''I Lombardi alla prima crociata''", ''[[Journal of Modern Italian Studies]]'' (2013) 18#2 pp. 190–204.</ref> Likewise, Roger Parker argues that the political dimension of Verdi's operas was exaggerated by nationalistic historians in the late 19th century.<ref>[[Roger Parker]], "Verdi politico: a wounded cliché regroups." ''[[Journal of Modern Italian Studies]]'' 17#4 (2012): 427–436.</ref>

[[File:Verdi statue.jpg|thumb|upright|Luigi Secchi's 1913 statue of Verdi in Busseto]]
From the 1850s onwards, Verdi's operas displayed few patriotic themes because of the heavy censorship by the absolutist regime in power. Verdi later became disillusioned by politics, but he was personally active part in the political world of events of the Risorgimento and was elected to the first Italian parliament in 1861.<ref>Franco DellaPeruta, "Verdi e il Risorgimento," ''Rassegna Storica del Risorgimento'' (2001) 88#1 pp. 3–24</ref>

===Memorials and cultural portrayals===
Three Italian [[music school|conservatories]], the [[Milan Conservatory]]<ref>[http://www.consmilano.it/it/conservatorio/storia "Storia"], Milan Conservatory website, accessed 27 June 2015.</ref> and those in Turin<ref>[http://www.conservatoriotorino.eu/ Conservatorio Statale di Musica Giuseppe Verdi, Torino] website, accessed 27 June 2015</ref> and [[Como]],<ref>[http://www.conservatoriocomo.it/eng/ Conservatorio di musica "Giuseppe Verdi" of Como] website, accessed 27 June 2015</ref> are named after Verdi, as are [[Teatro Verdi (disambiguation)|many Italian theatres]].

Verdi's hometown of Busseto displays [[Luigi Secchi]]'s statue of a seated Verdi in 1913, next to the Teatro Verdi built in his honour in the 1850s.{{sfn|Sadie|Sadie|2005|p=385}} It is one of many statues of the composer in Italy.{{efn|1=A number of photographs of these can be seen at the [http://operamylove.com/2014/03/17/statues-and-monuments-dedicated-to-giuseppe-verdi/ "Opera, My Love"] website (accessed 27 June 2015).}} The [[Giuseppe Verdi Monument]], a 1906 marble memorial, sculpted by Pasquale Civiletti, is located in [[Verdi Square]] in [[New York City]]. The monument includes a statue of Verdi himself and life-sized statues of four characters from his operas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=142W97V5249H2.996&profile=ariall&uri=link=3100009~!1167525~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=Browse&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!siartinventories&term=Verdi+Memorial%2C&index=ALTIT|title=Verdi Memorial, (sculpture)}}</ref>

[[File:Final scene from the opera Risorgimento!.jpg|thumb|The final scene of the opera ''[[Risorgimento! (opera)|Risorgimento!]]'' (2011) by [[Lorenzo Ferrero]]. Verdi, one of the characters in the opera, stands just left of centre.]]{{main|Memorials to Giuseppe Verdi}}
Verdi has been the subject of several film and stage works. These include the 1938 film directed by [[Carmine Gallone]], ''[[Giuseppe Verdi (film)|Giuseppe Verdi]]'', starring [[Fosco Giachetti]];<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026415/ ''Giuseppe Verdi''] in IMDb website, accessed 27 June 2015.</ref> the 1982 miniseries, [[The Life of Verdi (miniseries)|''The Life of Verdi'']], directed by [[Renato Castellani]], where Verdi was played by [[Ronald Pickup]], with narration by [[Burt Lancaster]] in the English version;<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087621/ ''Verdi'' (1982)] in IMDb website, accessed 27 June 2015.</ref> and the 1985 play ''[[After Aida]]'', by [[Julian Mitchell]] (1985).<ref>[http://www.robertfoxlimited.com/showdetails.asp?showID=46 ''After Aida''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630101254/http://www.robertfoxlimited.com/showdetails.asp?showID=46 |date=30 June 2015 }} production details at Robert Fox Ltd. website, accessed 27 June 2015.</ref> He is a character in the 2011 opera ''[[Risorgimento! (opera)|Risorgimento!]]'' by Italian composer [[Lorenzo Ferrero]].<ref>[http://www.tcbo.it/index.php?id=250 ''Risorgimento''] on website of [[Teatro Comunale di Bologna]], accessed 27 June 2015.</ref>

===Verdi today===
Verdi's operas are frequently staged around the world.<ref name="auto"/> All of his operas are available in recordings,<ref>See e.g. [http://www.carlomarinelli.it/lang:ita Opera Discography Encyclopedia] website, accessed 28 June 2015.</ref> and on DVD – [[Naxos Records]] offers a complete boxed set.<ref>[http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=721808 "Tutto Verdi"], Naxos website, accessed 28 June 2015</ref>

Modern productions may differ substantially from those originally envisaged by the composer. [[Jonathan Miller]]'s 1982 version of ''Rigoletto'' for [[English National Opera]], set in the world of modern American [[American mafia|mafiosi]], received critical plaudits.<ref>See. e.g. John O'Connor, [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/23/arts/review-television-jonathan-miller-s-mafia-rigoletto.html "Jonathan Miller's Mafia 'Rigoletto'"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 23 February 1989, accessed 28 June 2015.</ref> But the same company's staging in 2002 of ''Un ballo in maschera'' as ''A Masked Ball'', directed by [[Calixto Bieito]], including "satanic sex rituals, homosexual rape, [and] a demonic dwarf", got a general critical thumbs down.<ref>Matt Slater, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1835609.stm "Revamped opera fails to shock"], [[BBC News]], 22 February 2002, accessed 28 June 2015.</ref>

Excerpts from the Requiem were featured at the [[funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales]] in 1997.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|2004|p=14}} On 12 March 2011 during a performance of ''Nabucco'' at the [[Opera di Roma]] celebrating 150 years of Italian unification, the conductor [[Riccardo Muti]] paused after "Va, pensiero" and turned to address the audience (which included the then Italian Prime Minister, [[Silvio Berlusconi]]) to complain about cuts in state funding of culture; the audience then joined in a repeat of the chorus.<ref>James Bone, [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/against-silvio-berlusconis-idea-of-culture/story-e6frg8n6-1226026973948 "Against Silvio Berlusconi's idea of culture"], ''[[The Australian]]'', 24 March 2011, accessed 28 June 2015.</ref> In 2014, the pop singer [[Katy Perry]] appeared at the [[Grammy Award]] wearing a dress designed by [[Valentino Garavani|Valentino]], embroidered with the music of "Dell'invito trascorsa è già l'ora" from the start of ''La traviata''.<ref>[http://www.classicfm.com/composers/verdi/news/katy-perry-music-dress-la-traviata "Katy Perry's Verdi dress steals show at Grammys"], 28 January 2014, [[Classic FM (UK)]], accessed 28 June 2015</ref> The bicentenary of Verdi's birth in 2013 was celebrated around the world, both in performances and broadcasts.<ref>Charlotte Runcie, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/10363194/Verdi-How-his-200th-birthday-is-being-celebrated.html "Verdi: How his 200th birthday is being celebrated"], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', London, 9 October 2013, accessed 13 July 2015</ref>