Verdi & Wagner
September 2013
We are celebrating Giuseppe Verdi's and Richard Wagner's 200th birthdays!
Giuseppe Verdi wrote 29 operas which premiered between 1839 and 1893. In addition to his busy compositional life, he was one of the leaders in the Unification of Italy in the nineteenth century. The chorus of Hebrew slaves in Nabucco, Va pensiero, became the anthem of the Italians rising up against the rule by the Austrians. The Verdi top 10 at the
Met are Aida, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Otello, Un Ballo in Maschera, La Forza del Destino, Don Carlos, Falstaff, Simon Boccanegra.
Richard Wagner is one of the most controversial figures in history, not just musical history.
Because of his music's association with the Third Reich, playing his music in major performance is still frowned on in Israel. Despite his virulent anti-semitism (not uncommon in the 19th century), the greatest Wagnerian conductors contain a pantheon of great Jewish conductors including James Levine, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Georg Solti, Erich Leinsdorf, and others. Wagner has only 7 mature works from 1843-1882 (counting the Ring as 1, not 4 operas).
The Met website is highly recommended for all sorts of information and the archives contain a database that is for all statistic and historic nuts like me. The Met also has (for a fee) streaming services of both audio and video-- Met Opera on Demand.
Happy birthday Joey and Rickie!
Giuseppe Verdi
October 10, 1813 - January 27, 1901
Aida
Princesses, armies, slaves, romance, and tragedy make for one of the world's best loved operas.
La Traviata
Based on "La Dame aux Camelias" by Alexandre Dumas fils, which was written for the real-life courtesan Marie Duplessis, with whom Dumas had a brief affair. More romance and tragedy.
Rigoletto
The first of Verdi's three most popular operas. Even in the mid 19th century he had to disguise the real characters' names to protect the innocent.
Il Trovatore
The third of the three most popular of Verdi's operas...the plot is best experienced by watching the Marx Bros in 'A Night at the Opera'...Kitty Carlisle sings Leonora in the Marx Bros version.
Otello
A handkerchief and a kiss with a little jealousy thrown in...just like the Shakespeare but shorter.
Un Ballo in Maschera
The Governor of Boston gets assassinated...censored again...it was really meant to be about the King of Sweden.
La Forza del Destino
Mistaken identities, great music.
Don Carlo
Sex, politics, the Church...six great roles and shorter than Schiller but not by much.
Falstaff
Better than the Shakespeare and worthy of Harold Bloom's high opinion of the Shakespeare play.
Simon Boccanegra
Mistaken identity, politics, poison -- slow and fast acting.
Richard Wagner
May 22, 1813 - February 13, 1883
Lohengrin
What time's the next swan?
Ring of the Nibelung: Die Walkure
Politics, illicit sex, and great music (Die Walkure is the only one of the four operas often done out of cycle).
Tannhauser
Sacred and profane love...Tannhauser can't decide until the third act.
Tristan und Isolde
The traditional story with the most passionate music ever composed.
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
A German comedy...I find that an oxymoron.
Der Fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman)
The Dutchman only comes ashore once every seven years.
Parsifal
A new version of the Met production is expected on DVD/Blu-Ray before Christmas 2013. It's the best overall Wagner production and performance I've seen in 50 years. Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, but great performances from all and conducted by Daniele Gatti. It's worth waiting for.
List compiled by:
Robert W. White
BCCLS Executive Director (and opera enthusiast)
