Character Catalog

Opera in four acts inspired by the Old Testament, whose famous chorus 'Va, pensiero' became the anthem of the Italian unification movement, propelling Verdi to the status of national composer.

Tragic opera in three acts based on Victor Hugo (Le roi s'amuse), a masterpiece of Verdian psychological drama featuring the unforgettable aria 'La donna è mobile', premiered despite Austrian censorship.

Opera in four acts of extreme dramatic complexity, immensely popular in the 19th century for the power of its arias and the darkness of its plot.

Opera in three acts inspired by La Dame aux camélias by Dumas fils, a deeply moving portrait of a woman sacrificed by social conventions, today one of the most performed operas in the world.

Grand opera in four acts commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt, the pinnacle of monumental lyric spectacle combining Orientalist exoticism with dramatic depth.

Requiem composed in homage to the writer Alessandro Manzoni, a choral and orchestral work of such dramatic intensity that it transcends the strictly liturgical framework to reach the universal.

Opera in four acts based on Shakespeare, composed after sixteen years of operatic silence; considered the pinnacle of mature Verdian drama, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito of rare excellence.

Verdi's only comic opera, composed at the age of 79 after Shakespeare (The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV), a work of astonishing lightness and modernity hailed as a brilliant artistic testament.

"I am a peasant... I was raised in the countryside and I have never been able to shed certain rustic habits, a certain roughness of manner that perhaps shocks people of the world."

"I want the opera to be great, splendid; I want magnificence in the sets and costumes, but above all I want truth in the situations and in the characters."

"Copying reality may be a good thing, but inventing reality is better, far better. It does not seem that Falstaff ever existed, and yet he is truer than truth."

"Verdi worked every morning with an energy and a joy I had never seen in him before. He laughed as he composed; he had become young again."

"Music is a universal language; it speaks to the heart of all people, regardless of nation or rank."

Tiny village in the Duchy of Parma where Verdi was born on October 10, 1813; he took his first musical steps there on the organ of the parish church.

Italy's most prestigious opera house, where Verdi enjoyed his greatest triumphs with Nabucco (1842), Otello (1887), and Falstaff (1893).

Agricultural estate acquired in 1848 near Busseto, Verdi's main residence for more than fifty years, where he composed most of his works.

Legendary theatre where Rigoletto (1851) and La Traviata (1853) had their world premieres — two of the most performed operas in the global repertoire.

Site of the world premiere of Aida on December 24, 1871, commissioned to celebrate the inauguration of the Suez Canal in a context of triumphant Orientalism.

Retirement home for elderly musicians founded and entirely funded by Verdi in 1899; he died there in 1901 and rests there alongside his wife Giuseppina Strepponi.

Verdi composed at an upright or grand piano in his apartments; he owned several instruments and worked daily at the keyboard to develop his vocal scores.

Verdi wrote his scores himself with a quill pen, correcting and crossing out extensively; his manuscripts, preserved at the Casa Ricordi and the archives of Parma, bear witness to his perfectionist demands.

Verdi attached paramount importance to the libretto and worked closely with his librettists Temistocle Solera, Francesco Maria Piave, and Arrigo Boito to obtain dramatically powerful texts.

Richly embroidered costumes and sumptuous sets were essential elements of the Verdian spectacle; Verdi himself supervised their design during major premieres.

As a prosperous bourgeois of the Victorian era, Verdi wore a top hat in the city, a symbol of social respectability, although he preferred the rural life of Sant'Agata to the bustle of large cities.

Verdi was a passionate landowner; at his villa in Sant'Agata (Piacenza), he personally oversaw the crops and livestock, claiming that the land restored him between operas.

The Ricordi music publishing house in Milan was the indispensable intermediary between Verdi and theatres around the world; hundreds of letters and telegrams stand as testament to this fruitful collaboration.