User Guide

dCS Verdi User Manual Manual for Software Issue 1.2x
dCS Ltd September 2004
Manual filename: Verdi Manual v1.2x.doc Page 4 email: [e-mail]
English version web-site: www.dcsltd.co.uk
GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813 –1901)
The dCS Verdi is named after Giuseppe Verdi, the 19
th
century Italian composer.
He was born in the village of Roncole in the province of Parma on October 10
th
,
1813. From an early age he showed a strong interest in music and commenced
his formal musical studies at the age of 7, tutored by the organist in his village
church.
When he was 10, Verdi moved to the nearby town of Busseto, where he
attended the music school run by Ferdinando Provesi. In Busseto he made the
acquaintance of Antonio Barezzi, a local merchant and passionate music lover.
Barezzi provided Verdi with financial assistance during the remainder of his
musical studies and many years later in 1836, Verdi married Barezzi’s daughter,
Margherita.
In 1832 he applied to study at the prestigious Milan Conservatory, but was
turned down. Instead, he studied in Milan under the private tuition of Vincenzo
Lavingna, a composer and former harpsichordist at the La Scala theatre. During
his stay in Milan, Verdi spent a great deal of time attending the theatre and this
almost certainly accounts for his work being heavily biased towards opera.
On Provesi’s death in 1833, Verdi returned to Busseto with the aim of taking
over his position as head of the town’s music school. However, this was
delayed until 1836 by political squabbling between the clergy and his supporters
in the local Philharmonia.
In 1838, Verdi moved to Milan where the following year he presented his first
opera, Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio at the La Scala theatre, where it was
received to moderate acclaim.
1840 must have been the worst year of his life. First his two children and then
his wife died in quick succession. His misery was further compounded when his
second opera, Un Giorno di Regno, closed after only one performance. At this
point Verdi seriously considered giving up composing altogether. At the
insistence of Bartolomeo Merelli, the impresario of the La Scala theatre, Verdi
read a libretto written by Solera. The biblical themes deeply moved him and
motivated him to write his second opera, Nabucco, which was hailed as a
triumph when it was performed for the first time at La Scala in 1842. Nabucco
firmly established Verdi as one of the leading Italian composers of the day.
Verdi then commenced a period of prodigious creativity. Between 1843 and
1858 he wrote a total of 20 operas. Of these, 3 are especially of note and are
still regularly performed: Rigoletto - written in 1851, Il trovatore and La
traviata - both written in 1853.
In 1859 he married his second wife, the soprano Giuseppina Strepponi, whom
he had known since 1842 when she sang the female lead in Nabucco at La
Scala.
Verdi’s works often contained strong political themes. This interest in politics
was carried over to his private life and, in 1861, he was elected as a deputy to
the first Italian parliament.
His success had made him a wealthy as well as famous man. He used his
considerable fortune to progressively increase the size of his farm holdings in
Parma. By 1900, these had become the largest revenue producer in the
province.