Fathers And Daughters In The Music Of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi was born on October 9, 1813 in Le Roncole, Italy. He studied in Milan for a while and then moved back to Busetto where he fell in love with and married Margherita Barezzi. They had two children and were very happy. In in 1836 tragedy struck when his two children both died. In 1840 Margherita died.
Verdi now found himself at the age of twenty seven, when most men are just starting their life, a widower with no one. Needless to say, he was completely devastated. He poured himself into his work. He wrote Nabucco in 1842 which catapulted him to fame. He became somewhat of a national hero. People would often holler "Viva Verdi." (Although I am sure he was flattered he knew that they were using his name as an acronym for Vittorio Emannuele Re d'Italia.) In 1843 he wrote I Lombardi and for the next ten years he would crank out one opera after another in an era that he himself described as his "galley years."
In his operas, he often revisited themes between fathers and daughters. In 1851 he wrote Rigoletto after Victor Hugo's Le roi s'amuse. The story focuses on a cynical hunchback in the employ of the duke of Mantua. The main character is generally unpleasant and vindictive but he is redeemed by the love of his daughter Gilda. Verdi masterfully contrasts Rigoletto's spite at court with his incredible tenderness for his daughter. In typical opera fashion she dies at the end leaving Rigoletto distraught and completely alone in the world- sentiments that probably struck a deep chord with Verdi.
In 1857 he wrote Simon Boccanegra. The opera focuses around a doge of Genoa. Boccanegra believes that his daughter has died only to find, years later, that she had been adopted by his arch enemy. The reunion scene is arguably some of the most beautiful music he ever wrote. One can't help wonder how Verdi himself must have fantasized about being reunited with his children.
It almost seems like a cliche to say that art is born out of tragedy. In a time before analysis and Prozac people had few outlets for their grief. No one would wish the tragedy that Verdi met in his early life on their worst enemy. However he harnessed that sadness and turned it into timeless art.
The author is a conductor who lives in New York City where he has conducted five of Giuseppe Verdi's operas.
Source: www.articlealley.com
