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Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, born as Joseph Fortunin Francesco Verdi in 1813 and died in 1901. Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer who focused primarily on opera, and was one of the most influential Italian opera composers of his century. It was the Franciscan father Lorenzo da Terzorio who, hearing Giuseppe Verdi play the organ in church after his Latin lessons, advised his father to enrol him in the Fedinando Provesi music school. He was only twelve years old when he replaced his teacher as organist at the Roncole. By this time, Giuseppe Verdi was already playing his own compositions and was introduced to the salons of notables where he gave his first solo concerts. At the age of 15, he composed his first symphony and then a cantata. Giuseppe Verdi was then sent by his father to the Milan Conservatory. He presented a four-part fugue for the entrance exam but failed the piano test, the jury considering that his hands were badly positioned. However, this did not prevent Giuseppe Verdi from having a brilliant career as a composer. After a difficult start and a lack of money, he managed to make a name for himself and compose the greatest operas, which today are among the references of the genre. These include La Traviata with pieces such as Libiamo neé lieti calici, Nabucco from which the title Va pensiero is taken, but also Aida, Falstaff and Ernani.