Giuseppe Verdi was born on this date in 1813-he is 199 years old today. The bicentennial next year will be a blast. Meanwhile, here are some of my favorite Verdi "moments". What are yours? Nabucco was Verdi's first "hit". The grand chorus Va pensiero is the lament of the Hebrew Slaves longing for their homeland. Everyone in that first audience in Milan in 1841 knew the young composer was singing about them, the Italian people, longing for freedom from Franco-Austrian rule. This music made Verdi a national. He retains this status to this day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NF6LweEA_A Here's a great tune, and who better than Luciano Pavarotti to tell us that women are as fickle as the wind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8UerodV2n0 Aida! Is there a more perfect opera? This was commissioned by the khedive of Egypt for the opening of the Suez Canal. The premiere was postponed but finally held in Cairo in 1871. The khedive attended. His wives filled three theater boxes. Aida has outlived them all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ8anO5lbpY Fifty years and twenty-six operas after Nabucco, Verdi says goodbye with Falstaff, and tutto nel mondo e burla (all the world is nuts!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvFyDeOwMtY Just you wait for October 10, 2013!
Christopher Purdy is Classical 101's early morning host, 7-10 a.m. weekdays. He is host and producer of Front Row Center – Classical 101’s weekly celebration of Opera and more – as well as Music in Mid-Ohio, Concerts at Ohio State, and the Columbus Symphony broadcast series. He is the regular pre-concert speaker for Columbus Symphony performances in the Ohio Theater.