Composer of the Week – Giuseppe Verdi

by Symphony Gal

Happy late birthday to Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, who was born October 10th (or possibly 9th), 1813.

Although Verdi composed some beautiful works for symphony and chorus, we know him primarily as an opera composer, having written 28 in his very popular career. Not only are his operas still some of the most frequently performed, you’ll easily recognize many of his arias from movies, commercials, and television shows.

How about these hits:

“La donna è mobile” from Rigoletto (This is Luciano Pavarotti from an 80’s movie of the opera. It’s pretty cheesy, but definitely worth it just to see his eyebrows dancing around!)

The Triumphant March from Aida – You might have heard this one at graduation.

Or from Il Trovatore: “Vedi! Le fosche notturne”. Also known as the Anvil Chorus. The music for more cartoons than I can think of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEMMVHAINFM

But here is my favorite Verdi aria, “O terra addio” from Aida.