Editing Giuseppe Verdi (section)

===1887–1901: ''Falstaff'' and last years===
[[File:Boito e Verdi.jpg|thumb|right|[[Arrigo Boito]] and Verdi at Sant'Agata in 1893]]
Following the success of ''Otello'' Verdi commented, "After having relentlessly massacred so many heroes and heroines, I have at last the right to laugh a little." He had considered a variety of comic subjects but had found none of them wholly suitable and confided his ambition to Boito. The librettist said nothing at the time but secretly began work on a libretto based on ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'' with additional material taken from ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]'' and ''[[Henry IV, Part 2|Part 2]]''.{{sfn|Klein|1926|p=606}} Verdi received the draft libretto probably in early July 1889 after he had just read Shakespeare's play: "Benissimo! Benissimo!... No one could have done better than you", he wrote back to Boito. But he still had doubts: his age, his health (which he admits to being good) and his ability to complete the project: "If I were not to finish the music?". If the project failed, it would have been a waste of Boito's time, and have distracted him from completing his own new opera. Finally, on 10 July 1889, he wrote again: "So be it! So let's do ''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]''! For now, let's not think of obstacles, of age, of illnesses!" Verdi emphasised the need for secrecy but continued "If you are in the mood, then start to write."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=700–701}} Later he wrote to Boito: "What joy to be able to say to the public: HERE WE ARE AGAIN!!! COME AND SEE US!"{{sfn|Mendelsohn|1978|p=122}}{{efn|1=The capitalization and exclamation marks are Verdi's own.}}

[[File:Maria Carrara Verdi, Barberina Strepponi, Giuseppe Verdi, Giuditta Ricordi, Teresa Stolz, Umberto Campanari, Giulio Ricordi, Leopoldo Metlicovitz (1900) - Archivio storico Ricordi FOTO003107 - Restoration.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Group portrait at Sant'Agata in 1900 with various family and friends. His companion [[Teresa Stolz]] is standing at the left, [[Giulio Ricordi]] is standing second from the right, with his wife seated below him. Verdi is in the middle, and his adopted daughter, Maria Carrara Verdi, is seated at the far left.]]
The first performance of ''Falstaff'' took place at La Scala on 9 February 1893. For the first night, official ticket prices were thirty times higher than usual. Royalty, aristocracy, critics and leading figures from the arts all over Europe were present. The performance was a huge success; numbers were encored, and at the end, the applause for Verdi and the cast lasted an hour. That was followed by a tumultuous welcome when the composer, his wife and Boito arrived at the [[Grand Hotel et de Milan|Grand Hotel de Milan]].{{sfn|Hepokoski|1983|pp=55–56}} Even more hectic scenes ensued when he went to Rome in May for the opera's premiere at the [[Teatro Costanzi]]; crowds of well-wishers at the railway station initially forced Verdi to take refuge in a tool-shed. He witnessed the performance from the Royal Box at the side of [[Umberto I of Italy|King Umberto]] and [[Queen Margherita]].{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=137}}

In his last years, Verdi undertook a number of philanthropic ventures, publishing in 1894 a song for the benefit of earthquake victims in [[Sicily]], and from 1895 onwards planning, building and endowing a rest-home for retired musicians in Milan, the [[Casa di Riposo per Musicisti]], and building a hospital at [[Villanova sull'Arda]], close to Busseto.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=140}}{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§8}} His last major composition, the choral set of ''[[Quattro pezzi sacri|Four sacred pieces]]'', was published in 1898. In 1900 he was deeply upset at the assassination of [[Umberto I of Italy|King Umberto]] and sketched a setting of a poem in his memory, but was unable to complete it.{{sfn|Budden|1993|pp=143–144}}

While staying at the Grand Hotel, Verdi suffered a stroke on 21 January 1901.{{efn|1=[http://www.grandhoteletdemilan.it/themes/emotion/eng/index.php The hotel's website] (accessed 14 June 2015) contains a brief history of the composer's stay.}} He gradually grew more feeble over the next week, during which Stolz cared for him, and died on 27 January at the age of 87.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=146}}{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=186}}

[[File:Verdi tomba.JPG|thumb|Verdi's grave at the Casa di Riposo, Milan]]
Verdi was initially buried in a private ceremony at Milan's [[Cimitero Monumentale]].{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=659}} A month later, his body was moved to the crypt of the Casa di Riposo. On this occasion, "Va, pensiero" from ''Nabucco'' was conducted by [[Arturo Toscanini]] with a chorus of 820 singers. A huge crowd was in attendance, estimated at 300,000.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|2004|p=14}} Boito wrote to a friend, in words which recall the mysterious final scene of ''Don Carlos'', "[Verdi] sleeps like a King of Spain in his [[El Escorial|Escurial]], under a bronze slab that completely covers him."{{sfn|Walker|1962|p=509}}