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Verdi
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Verdi's major composition in 1849 was Luisa Miller, prepared for Naples. To some, this work more than Macbeth marks a turning point in his career; the psychological insights into human behavior as well as the subtleties of musical style become more sophisticated from this time forward. With Rigoletto (originally called by its subtitle, La maledizione), produced in Venice in 1850, he achieved an international reputation. His next work, La Traviata, was a failure at its Venetian premiere in 1853, but Verdi had no qualms with regard to its merit, and his faith was vindicated. The same year Il Trovatore proved an instant success in Rome. Simone Boccanegra followed in 1856 and was produced in 1857.
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Verdi is a young, bright yellow python who is determined NOT to grow up to be like the lazy, curmudgeonly trio of green adults who constantly criticize his antics. And what a wild snake Verdi is! He races to the top of a tree, bows a branch down with his "tail," then lets go and sails through the air. And when his skin inevitably starts turning green, he looks for a miracle in a mudpack. Cannon's lavish colored pencil and acrylic paintings are naturalistic with a playful hint of human vanity. Verdi grows older -- possibly a little wiser -- but manages to hold on to his individuality in this gentle tale which sneaks plenty of reptilian fact into the rebellious humor.
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Verdi often had trouble with the censors (the officials who decide whether the opera should be allowed to be performed). His opera Rigoletto was based on a story called Le roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo. The attempted murder of a king was not thought to be a suitable subject. Verdi had to change the king into a duke in his story and make some other changes before the opera could be performed. The story of his opera Traviata, based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, was ... thought to be immoral. At the first performance the audience laughed because the heroine, who is supposed to be dying of consumption, was very fat.
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One of Verdi's first successes as an opera composer, Nabucco, has a somewhat different plot. The opera is set in ancient Babylon preparing for the 566 BC World Cup. Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar) cruelly forces the city's Hebrew slaves to sew soccer balls for Babylon United's training sessions. In the end, an Assyrian soccer hooligan beats the king to death at the Nineveh Central Stadium and the Hebrew slaves begin to cheer.
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After Verdi’s three-year contract in Busseto expired, he again went to Milan, at the age of 25. His first opera, Oberto, was produced at La Scala opera house in Milan with some success in 1839. His next work, the comic opera Un giorno di regno (King for a Day, 1840), was a failure. Verdi... mourning the recent deaths of his wife and two children, decided to give up composing as a result. After more than a year, however, the director of La Scala offered him the libretto of Nabucco, a drama based on the biblical story of Nebuchadnezzar. Verdi’s imagination was fired by the story, and his opera Nabucco created a sensation at its premiere in 1842.
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Verdi achieved his first real success in 1842 with his third opera, Nabucco. In the next 11 years, Verdi produced 16 operas, averaging one every nine months. There is speculation that Verdi was driven by the tragic deaths of his wife and two infant children during the years 1838 to 1840. As Verdi struggled with his own health, he vowed to renounce operatic composition once he gained financial security. In spite of this vow, Verdi produced his greatest operas, including Macbeth, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, and Aida during the years 1847 to 1871. His last two operas, Otello and Falstaff, appeared after a 13-year rural retirement.
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