But it was Aida that was to be the culmination of this central period of Verdi’s career. Don Carlos is the most important in pushing the composer in new directions, thanks to its grand opera scale, the customary Parisian demand for spectacle, and the sophistication of the orchestral writing. The three works that resulted are as ambitious as any that Verdi ever tackled and each in its own way is unique. ‘Dispatches arrive from every corner of the civilised world’, he says, ‘begging for operas, offering incredible sums of money, promising honours and triumphs.’ Having spent his life writing largely for the opera houses of his native Italy, Verdi had now risen to a position whereby he would accept three major commissions from different corners of the globe: St Petersburg ( La forza del destino), Paris ( Don Carlos) and Cairo ( Aida).Ĭommissions of this stature demanded imposing operas. Ghislanzoni offers another telling observation.
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The great operas of this period – Simon Boccanegra, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Don Carlos and Aida – each occupied Verdi for several years of painstaking work. Instead of coming off the conveyor belt, each opera could be crafted at a relatively leisurely pace.
Now, success had brought him not only financial security, but time to breathe. The composer is described as being genial and contented: ‘When I met him for the first time 20 years ago…his frail frame, pale face, sunken cheeks and deep-set eyes aroused ominous fears, today you find nothing in that countenance but glowing health and stability.’Īt the time of their previous meeting Verdi had been in the grip of his ‘galley years’, when the pressure of earning a living meant he had to deliver new operas at the rate of two or three a year. In his memoir of the visit Ghislanzoni paints a picture of middle-class ease and affluence. To find the perfect subscription for you, simply visit: .uk/subscribeĭuring the summer of 1868 Antonio Ghislanzoni, a writer and former baritone, was taken to visit Verdi at home on his estate at Sant’ Agata. Subscribing to Gramophone is easy, you can choose how you want to enjoy each new issue (our beautifully produced printed magazine or the digital edition, or both) and also whether you would like access to our complete digital archive (stretching back to our very first issue in April 1923) and unparalleled Reviews Database, covering 50,000 albums and written by leading experts in their field. We have been writing about classical music for our dedicated and knowledgeable readers since 1923 and we would love you to join them.
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