Viva Verdi!: Celebrating the Art of Giuseppe Verdi

The most important Italian operatic composer of the 19th century, Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) brought to the opera stage works that redefined the genre and that remain mainstays in the world’s opera houses. A chameleon figure, Verdi was variously engaged in the politics of his era, explored the many layers of the human heart, and stretched the boundaries of operatic drama in the intimate interpenetration of life with art.

Week 1: Verdi and the Orchestra

Instructor: Nicolas Krusek

We will trace Verdi’s path to orchestral mastery from the early craftsmanship of Nabucco (1842) and the greater subtlety and nuance of his mid-period Rigoletto (1851) to the instrumental wizardry of his final masterpieces, Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893).

Week 2: Verdi and Politics

Instructor: James Gifford

Embroiled in, and even co-opted by, the politics of his days, Verdi explored the meaning of political power throughout his career. We survey the twists and turns of his response, exploring the enduring power of the political themes in Rigoletto, Macbeth, Don Carlos, and Aïda.

Week 3: Verdi the Dramatist 

Instructor: Harvey De Roo

Verdi’s late operas altered the genre. Drawing upon Shakespeare, Verdi’s librettist, Arrigo Boito, crafted texts to which the composer gave a psychological depth and dramatic intensity not previously seen in opera. We will concentrate on Otello, Verdi's towering masterpiece.

Week 4: Verdi and Wagner 

Instructor: Harvey De Roo

Verdi and Wagner were contemporaries, both giants in their own operatic traditions, who deployed radically different styles and practices, yet had some fundamental things in common. We will make comparisons today to help characterize the nature of Verdi’s achievement. Among other works Ernani and Falstaff will provide examples.

Week 5: The Verdi Voice – Part 1: Early Singers

Instructor: Henry Ewert

Singing Verdi is demanding. We rely upon the early recordings to explore the art of such singers as Enrico Caruso, Claudia Muzio, Ezio Pinza, and Rosa Ponselle, who set the bar extremely high for those to come and give glimpses of an earlier unrecorded tradition.

Week 6: The Verdi Voice – Part 2: Singers After the 1950s

Instructor: John Stape

We explore the post-war era’s major Verdi singers, including Leontyne Price, Franco Corelli, Carlo Bergonzi, and Renata Tebaldi, and move forward to the end of the 20th century, with such singers as Plácido Domingo, Aprile Millo, and Susan Dunn. The current "Verdi crisis" – a dearth of great interpreters – will not preclude our looking at a few singers on today’s operatic scene.

How will I learn?

• Lectures
• Video/sound clips
• Discussion (may vary from class to class)
• Papers (applicable only to certificate students)

Who should take this course?

This course is for anyone who is interested in learning about the achievement of the great Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi on the occasion of the bicentenary of his birth.

Textbooks and learning materials

Reading material (if applicable) will be available in class.