Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer of the Romantic period who took his native operatic style to new heights of dramatic expression. He was 26 years old when he wrote his first opera Oberto. In 1840 he wrote the opera Un giorno di Regno (King of the Day, with librettist Felice Romani), then Nabucco, followed by Ernani and Rigoletto. Other operas followed: Il trovatore (The Troubadour) and La traviata (The Erring One), Aida, considered by many opera buffs as his masterpiece, Requiem, Otello and his last opera, Falstaff.