  BIRTH, PARENTAGE, AND CHILD-LIFE Verdi's birth and birth-place—Dispute as to his township—Baptismal certificate—His parentage—The parents' circumstances—The osteria kept by them—A regular market-man—A mixed business—Verdi's early surroundings and influences—Verdi not a musical wonder or show-child—His natural child-life—Enchanted with street organ—Quiet manner as a child—Acolyte at Roncole Church—Enraptured with the organ music—Is bought a spinet—Practises incessantly—Gratuitous spinet repairs—To school at Busseto—Slender board and curriculum—First musical instruction—An apt pupil CLERK, STUDENT, AND PROFESSOR Verdi goes into the world—Office-boy in Barezzi's establishment—Congenial surroundings—An exceptional employer—Verdi becomes a pupil of Provesi—A painstaking copyist—Verdi wanted for a priest—Latin elements—Appointed organist of Roncole—A record salary—Barezzi's encouragement of Verdi's tastes—Father Seletti and Verdi's organ-playing—Provesi's status and friendship towards Verdi—Milan training for Verdi—Refused at the Conservatoire—Experience and training needed—Study under Vincenzo Lavigna of La Scala—Death of Provesi, and assumption of his Busseto duties by Verdi Page 16 COURTSHIP, MARRIAGE, AND FIRST OPERATIC SUCCESS Verdi is engaged class="csummary"to Margarita Barezzi—His marriage—Seeks a wider field in Milan—An emergency conductor—Conductor of the Milan Philharmonic Society—His first opera, Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio—Terms for production—Its success—A triple commission—A woman's sacrifice—Clouds—Death of his wife and children—Un Giorno di Regno produced—A failure—Verdi disgusted with music—Destroys Merelli contract—The Nabucco libretto forced on Verdi—Induced to set the book—Production of Nabucco with success—Opposition from the critics—Mr. Lumley gives Nabucco in London—Its performance and reception Page 27 SUCCESS, AND INTRODUCTION INTO ENGLAND Verdi's position assured—Selected to compose an opera d'obbligo—The terms—I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata—Its dramatis personÆ and argument—Reception at La Scala—A new triumph for Verdi—I Lombardi in London, 1846—Ernani—Political effect of Ernani—Official interference—Verdi first introduced into England—Mr. Lumley's production of Ernani at Her Majesty's Theatre—The reception of the opera—Criticism on Ernani—AthenÆum and Ernani Page 49 FIRST PERIOD WORKS I Due Foscari—Its argument—Failure of the opera in Rome, Paris, and London—Giovanna d'Arco—A moderate success—Alzira—Attila—More political enthusiasm—Attila given at Her Majesty's Theatre by Mr. Lumley—Its cool reception—The Times and AthenÆum critics on Attila—Exceptional activity of Verdi—Macbeth—Jerusalem in Paris—I Masnadieri first given at Her Majesty's Theatre—Jenny Lind in its cast—Plot of the opera—The work a failure everywhere—The critics on I Masnadieri— Mr. Lumley offers Verdi the conductorship at Her Majesty's Theatre—Il Corsaro—La Battaglia di Legnano—Luisa Miller— Mr. Chorley on Luisa Miller—Its libretto—Reception of the work in Naples, London, and Paris Page 70 RIGOLETTO TO AÏDA—SECOND PERIOD OPERAS Turning-point in Verdi's career—The libretto of Rigoletto—Production of Rigoletto in Venice, London, and Paris—Great success of the opera—AthenÆum and The Times on Rigoletto—"La Donna È mobile"—A second period style—Il Trovatore written for Rome—The libretto—Its reception at the Apollo Theatre—The work produced at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden—Its cast, and Graziani's singing therein—Lightning study of the Azucena rÔle—AthenÆum and The Times on Il Trovatore—La Traviata—The libretto and argument—The first performance at Venice a fiasco—Judgment reversed—Brilliant success of the opera in London—Piccolomini's impersonation of Violetta—Mr. Lumley's testimony—The Press and La Traviata—AthenÆum and The Times criticism of La Traviata—Les VÊpres Siciliennes—Prima donna runs away—Reception of the opera in Paris and London—Verdi in Germany—The Times criticism—Simon Boccanegra a failure—Un Ballo in Maschera—Trouble with the authorities—Production and success of Un Ballo in Maschera—Its reception in London—The Times on the opera—La Forza del Destino unsuccessful Page 104 REQUIEM MASS AND OTHER COMPOSITIONS Verdi as a sacred music composer—Share in the "Rossini" mass—Failure of a patch-work effort—Missa de Requiem produced—Splendid reception—Performed at the Royal Albert Hall—Structure of the work—Von BÜlow's opinion—Divided opinions on its style and merit—Its character—Modern Italian Church style—Northern versus Southern Church music—Verdi's early compositions—E minor Quartet for strings—L'Inno delle Nazioni—Its performance at Her Majesty's Theatre—Verdi's slender share in orchestral music—National temperament involved—Thematic method inconsistent with Italian national life Page 150 THIRD PERIOD OPERAS A matured style—Methuselah of opera—The last link—AÏda—A higher art plane—Ismail Pacha commissions AÏda—Its libretto—Production at Cairo—The argument—Patti as AÏda—AthenÆum criticism of AÏda—Otello—Scene in Milan—The initial cast—Its production and reception in London and Paris—AthenÆum review of Otello—Its story—Vocal and instrumental qualities—Falstaff—A surprise defeated—Boito—Falstaff produced at La Scala—In France—Falstaff at Covent Garden—The comedy and its music—AthenÆum opinion of Falstaff—A crowning triumph Page 167 POLITICIAN AND CITIZEN A born politician—Attempt to draw Verdi—The revolutionary ring of Verdi's music—Signor Basevi on this feature—National and political honours and distinctions—An inactive senator—England's neglect—The composer's nature and character—Bluntness of speech—A dissatisfied auditor—Verdi's alleged parsimony—Verdi and the curate—The gossips and his fortune—Life at St. Agata villa—An "eighty-two" word-portrait—Verdi's old-age vigour—Love of flowers—His hobby at the Genoa palazzo—Independence of character Page 203 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF STYLE Verdi's popularity—An important personality in music—Most successful composer of the nineteenth century—Verdi's opportuneness—Keynote of future struck in Nabucco—Its characteristics—Distinguishing features of Verdi's music—Stereotyped pattern operas—Change of style imminent in Luisa Miller—Altered second period style of Rigoletto—This maintained in Il Trovatore—La Traviata forebodings—Basevi's charge of an altered style therein—La Traviata and dÉbutantes—True Verdi style in Les VÊpres Siciliennes—Simon Boccanegra and Un Ballo in Maschera—Third period works—AÏda—Alleged Wagner influence—Mistaken criticism—Orchestration of Otello—Its style and technique compared with AÏda—Falstaff—Its position as an opera—A saviour of Italian art—The Illustrated London News defends Verdi from early critics—Later critics silenced—Verdi vindicated Page 223 EFFECT UPON AND PLACE IN OPERA Origin of opera—Melody in music—The first opera, Dafne—Monteverde's advances—Early opera orchestration—Gluck's reformed style in Orfeo and Alceste—A complete structure—Verdi's starting-point—Wagner's methods—Verdi's early operas—Don Carlos and an altered style—Its reception—A third or matured period method—Its characteristics—AÏda, Otello, and Falstaff—Verdi's disciples—Opera as a social need, past and present—Its reasonable decline—Verdi's ultimate position—His lasting works Page 273 VERDI LITERATURE Its scantiness—Restricted scope for the writer and historian—English ideas of Italian opera—English books on Verdi—German historian's measure—Recent English press notices—Foreign journalistic criticism—Italian writings Page 293 |
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