19 min listen
Music History Monday: Giuseppe Verdi and the Requiem for Alessandro Manzoni
Music History Monday: Giuseppe Verdi and the Requiem for Alessandro Manzoni
ratings:
Length:
20 minutes
Released:
May 22, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
We mark the first performance on May 22, 1874 – 149 years ago today – of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, written in memory of the Italian novelist, poet, and patriot Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1872).” Background In June of 1870, the 57-year-old Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) agreed to compose an opera for the brand-new Cairo Opera Theater. The Khedive Ismail Pasha of Egypt personally handled the negotiations, as the opera was to celebrate nothing less than the opening of the Suez Canal. No expense was spared, either on the opera or on Verdi, who received the unheard-of commissioning fee of 150,000 gold francs: roughly $1,935,000 today! The opera – Aida – received its premiere in Cairo on December 24, 1871. With no disrespect intended towards either the Khedive Ismail Pasha of Egypt or the Cairo Opera Theater, the opera’s real premiere – as far as Verdi and the larger opera world were concerned – took place six weeks later: at La Scala in Milan on February 8, 1872. That Italian premiere was a triumph, the greatest of Verdi’s career to date. He himself received 32 curtain calls! The only contemporary Italian artist who could possibly be considered as beloved as Giuseppe Verdi was the […]
The post Music History Monday: Giuseppe Verdi and the Requiem for Alessandro Manzoni first appeared on Robert Greenberg.
The post Music History Monday: Giuseppe Verdi and the Requiem for Alessandro Manzoni first appeared on Robert Greenberg.
Released:
May 22, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Music History Monday: Maximilian Stadler: Witness to History: We mark the death on November 8, 1833 – 188 years ago today – of the Austrian pianist, composer, and Benedictine monk, Maximilian Stadler. Born on August 4, 1748, in the Austrian city of Melk, Abbé Stadler died in his adopted home city of Vienna. by Music History Monday