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Verdi: Milan Conservatory
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That was his last opera still to come was a set of Quattro pezzi sacri (although Verdi was a non-believer). He spent his last years in Milan, rich, authoritarian but charitable, much visited, revered and honoured.
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Returning to Busseto, he became town music master and, with the support of Antonio Barezzi, a local merchant and music lover who had long supported Verdi's musical ambitions in Milan. Verdi gave his first public performance at Barezzi’s home in 1830. Because he loved Verdi’s music, Barezzi invited Verdi to be his daughter Margherita's music teacher and the two soon fell deeply in love. They were married in 1836 and Margherita gave birth to two children, both of whom died in infancy, followed by Margherita in 1840. Verdi adored his wife and children, and he was devastated when they all died in the prime of youth.
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In 1838 Verdi moved to Milan in anticipation of the production of Oberto. This year marked the beginning of a series of personal tragedies. His daughter died late in 1838. In 1839 his infant son died, leaving the young composer and his wife little taste for the moderate success of Oberto on November 17. The greatest blow fell in 1840, when his wife died. At the age of 27 Verdi found himself almost entirely alone in the world.
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In addition to his compositions, Verdi was noted in Italy as a diplomat and politician. Later in life, he founded the Casa diRiposo per Musicisiti, a retirement-home for aged musicians in Milan. Verdi passed away in 1901 at the age of 87, after suffering a stroke.
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Giuseppe Verdi was born on Oct. 10, 1813, in Roncole in the duchy of Parma. He early demonstrated an inclination to music. His family, being very poor, could do nothing to aid him. When he was 13, a merchant of nearby Busseto, Antonio Barezzi, took a lively interest in the young boy and encouraged him in his studies. At the age of 18 Verdi went to Milan to audition for the conservatory despite the fact that, even if he should be successful, he was already too old to be admitted. He was rejected only because of his age, but he was able to remain in Milan to continue his studies privately.
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While Milan was lost and reconquered by the Austrians, Verdi wrote Il Corsaro, La Battaglia di Legnano, and Luisa Miller, and started a Manon Lescaut which he would never finish. After the polemics for his Stiffelio, in 1851 Rigoletto was a triumph in Venice, and in 1853 he had another great success with Il Trovatore (in Rome) but a very sad fiasco for the first soirées of La Traviata. These three works in particular were loved by the public, but critics condemned the scandalous subjects depicting free love, suicide and rape.
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