WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.759 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we are taking 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:06.240 on a titan of the stage, a man who became, well, 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:08.500 an accidental revolutionary and you could argue 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:11.800 the first true celebrity composer of the modern 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:14.699 age. Does that be very? When you listen to his 00:00:14.699 --> 00:00:17.019 music, you know, the grand scale, the aching 00:00:17.019 --> 00:00:21.039 drama, it's so... Easy to feel you know the man, 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:24.660 but the reality is far more complex. Indeed. 00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:26.440 When you hear the name Verdi, you immediately 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:29.039 think of those massive, unforgettable Italian 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:32.240 melodies and dramatic duets, pieces that really 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:34.899 define the adocento. Right. But our mission today, 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.219 as we dive deep into this stack of biographical 00:00:37.219 --> 00:00:39.640 and musical scholarship, is to look behind that 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:42.359 velvet curtain and uncover the intensely private 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:45.399 individual who crafted that public icon. That's 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:47.950 right. Our source material spans his entire life, 00:00:47.990 --> 00:00:50.570 from his truly humble origins to his final, almost 00:00:50.570 --> 00:00:53.170 philosophical masterpieces. And it reveals a 00:00:53.170 --> 00:00:55.710 composer who was as savvy a businessman and landowner 00:00:55.710 --> 00:00:58.149 as he was, well, a musical genius. We're going 00:00:58.149 --> 00:01:00.609 deep into the stack to understand the real Verity 00:01:00.609 --> 00:01:02.869 Wartzenal. Our mission for you, the listener, 00:01:03.070 --> 00:01:06.530 is really multifaceted. First, we need to trace 00:01:06.530 --> 00:01:09.010 his dramatic personal journey. I mean, a life 00:01:09.010 --> 00:01:11.849 marked by overwhelming early tragedy, followed 00:01:11.849 --> 00:01:15.090 by incredible financial success, and then punctuated 00:01:15.090 --> 00:01:18.109 by significant domestic scandal that absolutely 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:21.629 affected his art. And second, we have to contextualize 00:01:21.629 --> 00:01:24.489 his powerful, if sometimes reluctant, political 00:01:24.489 --> 00:01:27.250 role during the fight for Italian unification, 00:01:27.469 --> 00:01:30.920 the Risorgimento. His name literally became a 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:33.420 rallying cry, whether he wanted it to or not. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:36.439 And third, and this is where it gets really fascinating, 00:01:36.579 --> 00:01:38.560 for music lovers and anyone interested in theatrical 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:41.239 history, we're going to track the stunning evolution 00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:43.959 of his musical language. We'll see how he progressed 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:46.780 through four distinct creative periods, consciously 00:01:46.780 --> 00:01:49.099 dismantling established operatic structures, 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:51.640 what we call the Code Rossini, to create a new 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.060 standard of profound theatrical and psychological 00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:56.599 realism. OK, let's unpack this from the very 00:01:56.599 --> 00:01:58.400 beginning. We need to start by understanding 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:00.799 the soil in which this titan grew. When we talk 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:03.159 about 19th century composers, that rags to riches 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:05.180 story often begins with the struggling peasant. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:08.219 Verdi certainly had humble beginnings, but let's 00:02:08.219 --> 00:02:10.680 challenge that widely accepted peasant myth he 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:13.039 himself later encouraged. Absolutely. And that 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:15.199 myth was a powerful tool for him. It served his 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:17.819 image as a self -made man, independent of the 00:02:17.819 --> 00:02:20.599 aristocracy. But the record tells a much more 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:23.659 nuanced story. Giuseppe Fortunio Francesco Verdi 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:26.379 was born in Augusta. October 1813 in Leroncol, 00:02:26.580 --> 00:02:29.860 near Buceto, which was then, interestingly, part 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:32.080 of the French Empire. Oh, I didn't realize that. 00:02:32.219 --> 00:02:34.659 Yes. And he usually celebrated his birthday on 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:36.659 the 9th, though the baptismal register is a little 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:39.659 ambiguous. It lists him as born yesterday on 00:02:39.659 --> 00:02:41.599 October 11th, which, you know, could have meant 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:43.780 the 9th or the 10th. And crucially, his parents, 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:47.479 Carlo and Luigia, were an innkeeper and a spinner. 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:50.860 The scholarship is very clear on this. They were 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:54.659 of moderate means, not illiterate peasants. And 00:02:54.659 --> 00:02:56.919 that distinction really matters because his father, 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:59.759 Carlo, was intensely ambitious for his son's 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:02.360 education, and that required some capital and, 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:05.360 frankly, foresight. That ambition meant Verdi 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:08.000 got an early formal education in Latin, Italian, 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:10.939 and the humanities, a really solid intellectual 00:03:10.939 --> 00:03:14.919 foundation. Musically, he was... I mean, unquestionably 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:18.319 a prodigy. He was so skilled that by the astonishing 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:21.520 age of eight, he became the official paid village 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:24.120 organist, succeeding his own teacher. At eight 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:26.860 years old. At eight. To do this, he had to walk 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:28.860 several kilometers regularly from his village 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:31.580 to Buseto to attend an upper school for boys. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:34.400 So he was invested in from a very young age, 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:36.939 not just discovered by chance. So his beginnings 00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:39.120 were modest, sure, but they certainly weren't 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:42.020 deprived of education or aspiration. And this 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:44.500 structured start. leads directly to the figure 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:47.259 who really enabled his early career, Antonio 00:03:47.259 --> 00:03:49.780 Barretzi. Barretzi was indispensable. He was 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:52.240 a wealthy local wholesale grocer and distiller, 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:54.479 a man of commerce, but also what the sources 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:57.039 call a manic dilettante of music. I love that 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:59.319 phrase. It's perfect, isn't it? A passionate 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:02.819 amateur who ran a music society. Barretzi saw 00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:05.500 the potential in the young Verdi, took him in, 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:08.159 and became his patron, providing him with access, 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:12.319 instruments, funding. He later, of course, formalized 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:14.560 that relationship by becoming Verdi's father 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.500 -in -law when Verdi married his daughter, Margherita. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.899 Barretzi facilitated the next big step, getting 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:23.980 to Milan, the undeniable cultural capital of 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:26.540 northern Italy. And this is where Verdi famously 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:29.649 applied to the Milan Conservatory. and was rejected. 00:04:29.769 --> 00:04:32.129 A wonderful bit of irony, yes. For a composer 00:04:32.129 --> 00:04:34.649 who would later define the entire Italian musical 00:04:34.649 --> 00:04:38.009 canon, it's amazing. It was a huge setback, but 00:04:38.009 --> 00:04:40.370 maybe a stroke of pure fortune. Instead of the 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:42.529 rigid academic structure of the conservatory, 00:04:42.649 --> 00:04:44.990 Borezzi arranged for him to study privately with 00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:47.569 Vincenzo Lavinia, who had been a maestro concertore 00:04:47.569 --> 00:04:50.250 at La Scala. And what exactly does a maestro 00:04:50.250 --> 00:04:52.970 concertatore do? Well, think of him as the chief 00:04:52.970 --> 00:04:55.470 music director. He runs the rehearsals, leads 00:04:55.470 --> 00:04:57.430 the performance from the keyboard. It's really 00:04:57.430 --> 00:04:59.649 the highest level of practical musical leadership 00:04:59.649 --> 00:05:02.089 in the opera house. So he was studying with someone 00:05:02.089 --> 00:05:04.550 who intimately understood how opera was actually 00:05:04.550 --> 00:05:07.470 made, not just the theory behind it. Exactly. 00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:10.009 Lavinia's guidance was vital because he encouraged 00:05:10.009 --> 00:05:13.110 Verdi to attend La Scala constantly. So Verdi 00:05:13.110 --> 00:05:15.490 just soaked up the atmosphere hearing the dominant 00:05:15.490 --> 00:05:17.949 operat composers of the time, Rossini and Bellini. 00:05:18.110 --> 00:05:21.149 This exposure refined his dramatic and theatrical 00:05:21.149 --> 00:05:23.850 sense outside the constraints of some academic 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:26.569 ivory tower, preparing him not just to compose 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:29.839 music, but to write for the stage. After studying 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:32.600 in Milan, he returns to Bucero, takes up a post 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:35.579 as maestro di musica, marries Margherita Borezzi 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:39.079 in 1836. Professionally, this period is one of 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:41.879 establishment, but personally, it's marked by 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:44.439 just a crushing sequence of tragedies that almost 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:46.959 stopped his career dead. The rapidity of a loss 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:49.259 is genuinely horrifying to consider. Between 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:53.060 1837 and 1839, he and Margarita lost both of 00:05:53.060 --> 00:05:55.339 their young children, first Virginia, then Asilio, 00:05:55.339 --> 00:05:58.000 who died in infancy. Oh my gosh. Then tragically, 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:00.519 Margarita herself died of encephalitis at only 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:03.360 26, shortly after the loss of their second child. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:06.779 The sources are clear. Verdi was a devoted family 00:06:06.779 --> 00:06:09.759 man. He was absolutely devastated by losing his 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:12.579 entire immediate family in such a brutal short 00:06:12.579 --> 00:06:14.920 span of time. He'd experienced the greatest possible 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:17.360 grief, and then to compound that, his professional 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:20.160 life completely imploded just as he was tricked 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:23.220 to restart it. His second opera, a comedy of 00:06:23.220 --> 00:06:25.939 all things, Un Giorno di Regno, premiered only 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:28.399 months after Margarita's death. And it was a 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:31.100 catastrophe, a total flop. It ran for only one 00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:32.879 performance. I mean, can you imagine trying to 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:34.839 create comedy while consumed by that kind of 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:37.420 grief? No. The source notes that following this 00:06:37.420 --> 00:06:40.000 failure and the emotional wreckage, Verdi allegedly 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:42.459 vowed he would never compose again. He just felt 00:06:42.459 --> 00:06:44.860 creatively and emotionally bankrupt. So how did 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:47.839 this man, lost in despair, silenced by grief 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:50.439 and failure, transition into the creative storm 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:52.800 that would produce the next two decades of work? 00:06:53.399 --> 00:06:55.980 This has to be the Nabucco turning point of 1842. 00:06:56.259 --> 00:06:58.560 The credit really goes to Bartolomeo Amerli. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:02.160 the La Scala impresario. Morelli had faith in 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:04.399 Verdi. He'd offered him a contract for three 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:06.720 works after the respectable run of his first 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.779 opera, Roberto. He saw the potential, and knowing 00:07:09.779 --> 00:07:11.959 Verdi was suffering, he essentially forced the 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:14.439 issue. He basically compelled him to take a libretto 00:07:14.439 --> 00:07:16.819 Nabucco that had been rejected by another composer, 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.660 Otto Niccolai. And Verdi himself tells this story, 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:22.930 right, in his autobiographical sketch. He describes 00:07:22.930 --> 00:07:25.170 finding the libretto and focusing on that opening 00:07:25.170 --> 00:07:28.209 chorus, va, pensiero. Yes, and he claimed he 00:07:28.209 --> 00:07:30.370 wrote the music not in some burst of genius, 00:07:30.449 --> 00:07:33.430 but in a slow, agonizing return to creation. 00:07:33.930 --> 00:07:36.569 He said, this verse today, tomorrow that, here 00:07:36.569 --> 00:07:39.069 a note, there a whole phrase. And little by little, 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:41.350 the opera was written. That slow, deliberate 00:07:41.350 --> 00:07:44.009 effort culminated in just overwhelming success. 00:07:44.569 --> 00:07:47.230 Immediate and immense acclaim. Nabucco premiered 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:50.610 on March 9th, 1842. Its revival later that year 00:07:50.610 --> 00:07:53.709 at La Scala saw an unprecedented run of 57 performances. 00:07:54.050 --> 00:07:56.009 This success didn't just salvage his career. 00:07:56.170 --> 00:07:58.250 It immediately established him as the next great 00:07:58.250 --> 00:08:00.269 figure in Italian opera. It set the trajectory 00:08:00.269 --> 00:08:03.019 for his entire professional life. So Nabucco 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:05.819 wasn't just a hit. It really opened the floodgates. 00:08:05.899 --> 00:08:08.259 It initiated the most punishing phase of his 00:08:08.259 --> 00:08:11.019 career, a period he famously called his years 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:13.759 in the galley. It was a brutal workload, just 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:16.160 demanded by the structure of the Italian operatic 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:19.459 system at the time. After Nabucco, Verdi produced 00:08:19.459 --> 00:08:22.120 20 new operas, and that's not even counting major 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:25.420 revisions, in the 16 years leading up to Un Bio 00:08:25.420 --> 00:08:28.860 in Maschera. 20 operas in 16 years. He was the 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:31.459 engine, the industrial capacity of Italian opera 00:08:31.459 --> 00:08:34.679 production, and he felt every minute of it. In 00:08:34.679 --> 00:08:37.840 1858, looking back, he complained, Since Nabucco, 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:40.019 you may say, I have never had one hour of piece, 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:43.039 16 years in the galleys. That is just an astonishing 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:45.440 rate of production. Was he just composing for 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:47.980 survival at that point? Initially, yes, to establish 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:49.820 himself and earn money, but soon it was just 00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:52.299 relentless demand. He felt trapped by his own 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:55.580 success, by the contracts he signed. In 1845, 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:58.000 he wrote this demoralized note saying he had 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.720 to write six operas, then adieu to everything. 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:02.960 And the source material suggests this frantic 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:06.100 pace often led to compromised quality or severe 00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:09.460 stress. But this period also forged two other 00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:12.360 crucial aspects of his identity, his financial 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:15.419 acumen and his status as a landowner. Let's focus 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:17.100 on that financial side, because that's where 00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:19.139 we see the transition from struggling artist 00:09:19.139 --> 00:09:22.679 to wealthy, controlling patriarch. Verdi was 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:24.980 a businessman in a way many of his peers were 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:27.860 not. Oh, absolutely. As his popularity soared, 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:30.000 he paid extremely close attention to his financial 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.320 contracts. He understood his value. For perspective, 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:35.960 major works like Ernani and Macbeth each brought 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:38.850 him 18 ,000 lire. And that wasn't just pocket 00:09:38.850 --> 00:09:41.450 change. Not at all. This was enough money to 00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:44.509 dramatically transform his social standing and 00:09:44.509 --> 00:09:47.529 secure long term investments. We see this codified 00:09:47.529 --> 00:09:49.789 in his contracts with a powerful publisher, Recordi, 00:09:49.830 --> 00:09:53.409 starting around 1847. These agreements were meticulously 00:09:53.409 --> 00:09:55.509 specific about what he would receive, not just 00:09:55.509 --> 00:09:57.889 for new works, but for various arrangements and 00:09:57.889 --> 00:10:00.669 first productions all across Europe. He was monetizing 00:10:00.669 --> 00:10:02.970 every single aspect of his creative output. And 00:10:02.970 --> 00:10:05.309 he used that money strategically to establish 00:10:05.309 --> 00:10:08.190 himself as a wealthy landowner in his home region, 00:10:08.330 --> 00:10:11.049 which feels like a direct response to the stress 00:10:11.049 --> 00:10:13.990 of the galley years. It was. Being rooted in 00:10:13.990 --> 00:10:16.590 the land gave him both financial security and, 00:10:16.669 --> 00:10:20.779 importantly, social authority. In 1844, he bought 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:24.600 Il Pulgaro, 62 acres of farmland, initially for 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:27.340 his parents. Which all culminates in 1848 when 00:10:27.340 --> 00:10:29.600 he purchases the property at Santa Gata near 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:32.120 Buceroland that had once belonged to his family, 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:34.820 which is a nice full circle moment. A huge moment. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.899 This estate became his permanent retreat. He 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:40.879 lived there from 1851 until his death, continually 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:43.580 expanding the grounds and the house, now known 00:10:43.580 --> 00:10:46.179 as the Villa Verde. By establishing Santa Gata, 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:48.860 he cemented his status as a rentier cum estate 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:51.320 owner. So not just a composer, he's a landlord. 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:53.799 He's an aristocratic landlord, earning passive 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:56.019 income from his land and property, which allowed 00:10:56.019 --> 00:10:59.179 him to control his later musical output and fiercely, 00:10:59.179 --> 00:11:01.299 fiercely guard his privacy. Beyond the business, 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:03.980 this punishing period also solidified his key 00:11:03.980 --> 00:11:06.639 professional and personal relationships. It's 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:08.799 where he begins a crucial collaboration with 00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:11.940 the librettist Francesco Maria Piave. Piave was 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:15.210 instrumental. He collaborated on numerous operas, 00:11:15.210 --> 00:11:18.330 including Ernani and Ai Dufascari. He was a reliable 00:11:18.330 --> 00:11:20.509 craftsman, which was essential for keeping up 00:11:20.509 --> 00:11:24.190 that pace. But maybe the most enduring and intimate 00:11:24.190 --> 00:11:27.090 professional relationship was with Emanuele Muzio, 00:11:27.230 --> 00:11:30.330 whom Verdi took on as his only pupil in 1844. 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:33.279 And Muzio was so much more than a student, wasn't 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:36.519 he? He was an indispensable amanuensis, an assistant, 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:39.340 eventually a trusted friend, an executor. He 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:42.220 really embodied the devotion Verdi inspired in 00:11:42.220 --> 00:11:44.039 those close to him. There's a wonderful letter 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.240 from Muzio to Brezzi highlighting this. He wrote, 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:48.759 I seem more like a friend rather than his pupil. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:51.539 We are always together at dinner, in the cafes 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:54.299 when we play cards. All in all, he doesn't go 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:56.700 anywhere without me at his side. That's incredible. 00:11:57.019 --> 00:11:58.960 And Musio later became a conductor of Verdi's 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.340 works outside Italy, managing the foreign premieres. 00:12:01.340 --> 00:12:03.840 It just illustrates how Verdi cultivated loyalty 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:06.320 and competence in his professional circle. And 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:08.220 then there is the personal relationship that 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:11.139 defined his maturity, Giuseppina Straponi. Their 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:14.659 relationship began around 1843. She was a famous 00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:17.059 soprano whose voice was declining, and she was 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:19.580 known in society for her amorous relationships 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:22.779 and many illegitimate children. And that background, 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.120 combined with their decision to live together 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:27.639 openly without marriage at Senagata for years, 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:30.860 well, it becomes a massive social and moral factor 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:33.440 in his life. The scandal they generated leads 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:35.700 directly into the next period, and critically, 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:38.580 into the subjects he chose for his greatest operas. 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:41.279 The public artist was beginning to reflect his 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:44.070 complex private life. While that private life 00:12:44.070 --> 00:12:46.090 was brewing with controversy, professionally 00:12:46.090 --> 00:12:48.789 his mastery was deepening, culminating in some 00:12:48.789 --> 00:12:51.549 major international triumphs. You singled out 00:12:51.549 --> 00:12:53.850 Macbeth as a key indicator of his evolving style. 00:12:54.110 --> 00:12:57.049 Yes, Macbeth from 1847 was uniquely important 00:12:57.049 --> 00:12:59.649 to him. He dedicated it to his patron Barretzi 00:12:59.649 --> 00:13:02.870 and valued it above all my other operas. This 00:13:02.870 --> 00:13:04.669 work showed a conscious attempt to depart from 00:13:04.669 --> 00:13:06.690 standard formulas, focusing instead on stark 00:13:06.690 --> 00:13:08.850 dramatic realism. He even asked his singers not 00:13:08.850 --> 00:13:11.149 to sing beautifully. He wanted the dramatic effect. 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:14.559 And we see his musical mind working in these 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:17.179 complex ways, like his approach to key signatures. 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:20.460 Precisely. For instance, he generally used sharp 00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:22.940 keys for the Macbeth themselves, representing 00:13:22.940 --> 00:13:26.159 their ambition and their moral sharpness, while 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:28.899 the witches often sang in flat keys. It was a 00:13:28.899 --> 00:13:30.820 very novel, atmospheric, and psychologically 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:34.059 informed approach to characterization. That attention 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:37.179 to the tinta, or the color of the piece, is evidence 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:39.340 he was already thinking well beyond simple set 00:13:39.340 --> 00:13:42.539 pieces. Then in 1847, he's conducting the premiere 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:45.379 of I Mas Nadieri in London, which was a royal 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:47.679 affair attended by Queen Victoria and Prince 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:50.700 Albert. This really solidified his status as 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:52.919 a European commodity. And he was always pragmatic 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:55.480 about that status. When he adapted I Lombardi 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:58.559 for the Paris Opera, it became Jerusalem. And 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:00.600 sources detail that he had to make significant 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:03.320 changes, critically adding an extensive ballet 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:06.059 scene. This was a mandatory requirement to meet 00:14:06.059 --> 00:14:08.120 Parisian expectations for the genre of grand 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:10.759 opera. So he was willing to compromise on structure 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:13.279 if the market demanded it, which just confirms 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:15.879 him as this savvy professional who knew how to 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:17.740 earn money and maintain influence in different 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:20.830 markets. And we can't forget the flash of intense 00:14:20.830 --> 00:14:23.889 patriotism that capped this period around 1848. 00:14:24.389 --> 00:14:26.929 Hearing the news of the five days of fighting 00:14:26.929 --> 00:14:29.429 in Milan that temporarily drove out the Austrians, 00:14:29.529 --> 00:14:32.549 Verdi raced back. Drunk with joy, he channeled 00:14:32.549 --> 00:14:34.830 that revolutionary energy directly into his work, 00:14:34.929 --> 00:14:37.509 writing to Piave, urging him to banish every 00:14:37.509 --> 00:14:40.649 petty municipal idea. We must all extend a fraternal 00:14:40.649 --> 00:14:43.330 hand, and Italy will yet become the first nation 00:14:43.330 --> 00:14:46.149 of the world. Which led directly to the Battaglia 00:14:46.149 --> 00:14:49.490 di Legnano in 1849. It premiered shortly after 00:14:49.490 --> 00:14:52.110 Rome became a republic, featuring a tenor hero 00:14:52.110 --> 00:14:54.889 proclaiming, whoever dies for the fatherland 00:14:54.889 --> 00:14:57.950 cannot be evil -minded. Those are the early explicit 00:14:57.950 --> 00:15:00.409 moments when his art and politics became powerfully 00:15:00.409 --> 00:15:02.610 intertwined, setting the stage for his incredible 00:15:02.610 --> 00:15:05.889 middle period. The next phase, roughly 1849 to 00:15:05.889 --> 00:15:08.389 1860, is Verdi's middle period, and it's characterized 00:15:08.389 --> 00:15:10.590 by the three operas that really form the foundational 00:15:10.590 --> 00:15:13.490 core of Italian opera worldwide. These are the 00:15:13.490 --> 00:15:16.409 triple peaks of fame, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, 00:15:16.529 --> 00:15:19.860 and La Traviata. This era solidified his international 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:23.200 dominance. And importantly, Verdi was now successful 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.220 enough to dictate terms rather than just fulfilling 00:15:26.220 --> 00:15:29.399 commissions. Il Trovatore, for example, was the 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:31.580 first opera he wrote without a specific commission 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:35.120 since his very first work. He had finally achieved 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.519 creative independence. Which allowed him to choose 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.019 subjects that deeply resonated with his own worldview. 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:42.740 Exactly. But control over the music didn't mean 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:45.779 control over the morality police. This era is 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:48.879 defined by his intense battles against the censors 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:51.960 who found his subjects too volatile too. Regicide 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:54.879 adjacent or just too sexually problematic for 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.559 the conservative European stages. The censors 00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:00.700 were indeed his constant antagonists. His operas 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:03.039 to Felio failed partly because they took offense 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.159 at the perceived adultery of a clergyman's wife. 00:16:05.299 --> 00:16:08.299 But the major fight, the huge one, was over Rigoletto, 00:16:08.419 --> 00:16:11.799 based on Victor Hugo's Loas Amus. Right. The 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:14.000 censors in Venice were just outraged by the planned 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:16.440 murder of royalty and the overall sordid nature 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:18.759 of the story, centered on corruption and vengeance. 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:21.639 And Verdi refused to budge on the core element 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:24.379 that made the tragedy work, the character of 00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:27.429 the hunchbacked hero. he was completely unyielding 00:16:27.429 --> 00:16:30.149 he wrote to his team i see the hero has been 00:16:30.149 --> 00:16:33.029 made no longer ugly and hunchback why a singing 00:16:33.029 --> 00:16:35.850 hunchback why not if they are removed i can no 00:16:35.850 --> 00:16:38.980 longer set it to music He argued that the moral 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:41.639 qualities of the character, his capacity for 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:45.139 passionate love and grief, lay beneath that outwardly 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:47.720 deformed and ridiculous exterior. He eventually 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:50.340 had to substitute a duke for the king, but he 00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:53.080 kept the essential moral contradiction of Rigoletto 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.120 intact. He did. The ultimate vindication, of 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:58.519 course, was the music itself. And this brings 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:00.539 up one of the most famous anecdotes in music 00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:02.980 history, confirming Verdi's early recognition 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:06.079 of a potential viral hit, or what we now call 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.589 an earworm. La Donna Immobile. We're talking 00:17:08.589 --> 00:17:10.690 about La Donna Immobile, Woman is Fickle, the 00:17:10.690 --> 00:17:13.049 Duke's instantly memorable song from Act 3 of 00:17:13.049 --> 00:17:16.109 Rigoletto. Verdi knew this melody was so insanely 00:17:16.109 --> 00:17:19.049 catchy, so irresistible, that it presented a 00:17:19.049 --> 00:17:21.170 significant commercial risk. And what was his 00:17:21.170 --> 00:17:23.190 masterful strategy to protect his intellectual 00:17:23.190 --> 00:17:26.349 property? He deliberately excluded it from full 00:17:26.349 --> 00:17:28.809 orchestral and cast rehearsals. He rehearsed 00:17:28.809 --> 00:17:31.230 the tenor separately and under strict secrecy, 00:17:31.329 --> 00:17:34.329 instructing him not to whistle or hum it outside 00:17:34.329 --> 00:17:37.339 the rehearsal room. that if the melody got out 00:17:37.339 --> 00:17:39.839 before the premiere, it would be pirated instantly 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:42.240 by street musicians, hootie -gootie players, 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:45.240 music publishers, you name it. It would cut into 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:47.279 the novelty and the financial success of the 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.460 opera. Completely. And the strategy worked. The 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:52.579 audience heard it first in the theater, and by 00:17:52.579 --> 00:17:54.660 the next morning, it was being whistled all across 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:57.319 Venice. It ensured the opera's immediate overwhelming 00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:00.440 success and protected Verdi's financial interests 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:03.140 in an age -before robust international copyright. 00:18:03.769 --> 00:18:05.829 It's an incredible insight into his business 00:18:05.829 --> 00:18:08.430 mind. This professional shrewdness and the intensity 00:18:08.430 --> 00:18:11.490 of his dramatic choices, it brings us back to 00:18:11.490 --> 00:18:14.329 his complex private life. The tension between 00:18:14.329 --> 00:18:16.329 the globally acclaimed artist and the private 00:18:16.329 --> 00:18:18.650 man is perfectly encapsulated in the subject 00:18:18.650 --> 00:18:21.029 matter he was choosing. We talked about Verdi 00:18:21.029 --> 00:18:23.329 living openly with Giuseppino Straponi at Santa 00:18:23.329 --> 00:18:26.329 Gata without being married. Despite his fame 00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:28.509 and fortune, this arrangement led to Straponi 00:18:28.509 --> 00:18:31.029 being socially shunned by the deeply conservative 00:18:31.029 --> 00:18:33.769 Bussetto community. And while Verdi might have 00:18:33.769 --> 00:18:36.690 put on a brave face, Straponi certainly felt 00:18:36.690 --> 00:18:39.990 the sting of that moral judgment. And critics, 00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:42.190 drawing a direct line between the composer's 00:18:42.190 --> 00:18:44.789 life and his art, have identified a remarkable 00:18:44.789 --> 00:18:48.170 thematic pattern here. Which is? The observation 00:18:48.170 --> 00:18:51.019 is striking. Six of the eight operas written 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:53.380 during this middle period, from Louisa Miller 00:18:53.380 --> 00:18:55.819 through La Traviata, feature heroines who suffer 00:18:55.819 --> 00:18:59.279 grief, death, or social ruin because of sexual 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:02.420 transgression, actual or perceived. So Violetta 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:04.880 in La Traviata, the courtesan dying of consumption 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:08.359 and social isolation. Gilda in Rigoletto, whose 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:10.559 life is destroyed by the Duke's licentiousness. 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:13.240 All of them? The subjects center on the suffering 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:15.930 of women judged by society. The argument is that 00:19:15.930 --> 00:19:17.849 these deeply resonant tragedies were not just 00:19:17.849 --> 00:19:20.450 random choices, but a way for Verdi to channel 00:19:20.450 --> 00:19:22.650 the societal judgment that he and Straponi faced 00:19:22.650 --> 00:19:25.150 in their own home. He's fighting societal norms 00:19:25.150 --> 00:19:27.980 through the medium he controlled best. Precisely. 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:30.380 He took the emotional reality of his difficult, 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:33.319 unconventional relationship and placed it front 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:36.220 and center on the world stage, validating the 00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:39.359 passion while exposing the hypocrisy of the judging 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.079 society. Musically, this period marks Verdi's 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:44.559 decisive break from the previous generation's 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:46.920 established structures, what you called the Code 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:49.400 Rossini. The Code Rossini essentially defined 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.859 early 19th century Italian opera. predictable 00:19:52.859 --> 00:19:55.119 structures based on standardized set pieces. 00:19:55.380 --> 00:19:57.819 For example, an area would typically follow a 00:19:57.819 --> 00:20:01.220 four -part structure. A slow, lyrical introduction 00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:04.099 called a cavatina, a middle section, a fast, 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:06.559 brilliant conclusion called a cavaletta, and 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:09.039 a final flourish. And Avery found this predictable 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.799 and dramatically stifling. Completely. He explicitly 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:13.900 wrote that he would be happy if one could avoid 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:17.160 beginning with an opening chorus because he wanted 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:20.359 immediate drama, not formal ceremony. He was 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:22.799 moving away from the large -scale oratorio characteristics 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:24.940 of his early works towards continuous musical 00:20:24.940 --> 00:20:27.720 flow, individual psychological action, and intense 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:30.099 theatrical intrigue. La Traviata being a prime 00:20:30.099 --> 00:20:32.609 example of this new adventure. It was revolutionary. 00:20:32.869 --> 00:20:36.210 It pushed toward true theatrical realism by setting 00:20:36.210 --> 00:20:38.829 the drama in the contemporary world with contemporary 00:20:38.829 --> 00:20:41.869 dress. Although for the premiere, management 00:20:41.869 --> 00:20:44.009 forced him to set it back in the 18th century, 00:20:44.210 --> 00:20:46.750 fearing the scandal of contemporary Parisian 00:20:46.750 --> 00:20:48.589 courtesans would be too much for the audience. 00:20:48.789 --> 00:20:51.089 Even with that forced historical change, the 00:20:51.089 --> 00:20:54.130 music achieved the realism. Yes. The ending, 00:20:54.250 --> 00:20:57.630 where the heroine, Violetta, dies realistically 00:20:57.630 --> 00:21:00.839 and intimately from consumption. That was unprecedented 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:03.059 on the operatic stage at the time. It was a non 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:05.500 -heroic personal death depicting suffering with 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:07.559 musical subtlety. And his growing command of 00:21:07.559 --> 00:21:10.279 contrasting elements is masterful here. Oh, absolutely. 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:12.859 Think about placing the cynical, flippant La 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:15.220 Donna Immobile immediately before the deeply 00:21:15.220 --> 00:21:18.000 emotional and complex quartet Bella Figlia dell 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.839 'Amore in Rigoletto. That juxtaposition highlights 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:23.579 changing moods and moral confusion with staggering 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:26.500 efficiency. So by 1853, with these triple peaks 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:29.450 behind him, Verdi had achieved everything. fame, 00:21:29.549 --> 00:21:32.069 wealth, critical acclaim, artistic independence, 00:21:32.470 --> 00:21:34.809 he enters a phase of consolidation and greatly 00:21:34.809 --> 00:21:37.430 reduces his output. A significant pivot point. 00:21:37.589 --> 00:21:41.170 He wrote 16 operas in the 11 years before Traviata, 00:21:41.250 --> 00:21:44.529 but only six new works for the stage in the following 00:21:44.529 --> 00:21:47.609 18 years up to Aida. He had earned the right 00:21:47.609 --> 00:21:50.240 to step back focusing intensely on his estate 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:52.700 and his financial security. He really settled 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:54.619 into the role of the aristocratic landowner. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:58.180 He described his life then as a total abandonment 00:21:58.180 --> 00:22:00.839 of music, a little reading, some light occupation 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:03.480 with agriculture and horses. That's all. He became 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:05.880 the definition of the powerful, private country 00:22:05.880 --> 00:22:08.799 gentleman. And the social factor with Giuseppino 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:12.859 was finally resolved in 1859. After years of 00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:15.420 public scandal, they married secretly. The ceremony 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:17.960 was small, taking place in Calanche -sur -Salève, 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:20.640 then part of Piedmont. And the guest list speaks 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:23.319 volumes about their desire for privacy. Minimal 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:25.440 is an understatement. Only two witnesses were 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:27.680 present, the coachman who drove them there and 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:29.599 the church bell ringer. After all the public 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.359 drama, the composer and the soprano finally solidified 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:34.680 their relationship quietly on their own terms. 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:37.440 While Verdi was remodeling Santa Gata and acting 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:40.099 the part of the agriculturalist, his music was 00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:42.319 being used for the massive political movement 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:45.720 of the 19th century. The Risorgimento, the Italian 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:48.299 unification movement. Right. His political identity 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:50.779 and his art became inseparable in the public 00:22:50.779 --> 00:22:53.519 eye. His music was intensely identified with 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:56.019 unification, but it's crucial for us to separate 00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:58.599 the enduring patriotic myth from the historical 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:01.380 reality, especially regarding the most famous 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:04.769 chorus of all. The Course of the Hebrew Slaves 00:23:04.769 --> 00:23:07.549 from Nabucco, yes. The myth is that the audience 00:23:07.549 --> 00:23:10.910 demanded an encore of it in a nationalistic frenzy, 00:23:10.970 --> 00:23:14.630 openly defying an Austrian ban on encores, turning 00:23:14.630 --> 00:23:17.109 the theater into a revolutionary hotbed. But 00:23:17.109 --> 00:23:19.910 that's not quite what happened. The truth, based 00:23:19.910 --> 00:23:22.150 on meticulous scholarship, is a little less dramatic, 00:23:22.230 --> 00:23:24.309 but still powerful. The piece that actually got 00:23:24.309 --> 00:23:26.809 the encore that night was the hymn Imenso Jehovah. 00:23:27.549 --> 00:23:30.150 However, and this is a key point, the chorus 00:23:30.150 --> 00:23:33.289 did resonate profoundly with patriots. The lines 00:23:33.289 --> 00:23:35.529 lamenting the loss of a homeland, oh my country 00:23:35.529 --> 00:23:38.109 so lovely and so lost, spoke directly to the 00:23:38.109 --> 00:23:40.539 Italian desire for freedom. So the chorus quickly 00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:43.400 became an emotional cultural anthem. So even 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:45.359 if the origin story is a little embellished, 00:23:45.380 --> 00:23:47.819 the cultural impact was absolutely real. But 00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:50.500 the most explicit political use of his name came 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:53.039 with that infamous acronym that started circulating, 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:57.140 especially in Naples in 1859, the famous Viva 00:23:57.140 --> 00:24:00.000 Verdi slogan. Exactly. It wasn't simply shouting 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:02.720 long live the composer. It was a coded message, 00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:05.799 a simple but brilliant act of political signaling. 00:24:06.269 --> 00:24:10.130 Verdi stood for Vittorio Emanuele Re d 'Italia, 00:24:10.250 --> 00:24:13.509 meaning Long Live Victor Emmanuel II, King of 00:24:13.509 --> 00:24:15.890 Italy. That's truly fascinating. It was a safe 00:24:15.890 --> 00:24:18.009 way for patriots to express their revolutionary 00:24:18.009 --> 00:24:20.950 sentiments in public, using an artistic hero 00:24:20.950 --> 00:24:24.009 as a kind of shield. Precisely. And after unification 00:24:24.009 --> 00:24:27.589 was achieved in 1861, many of his earlier operas, 00:24:27.609 --> 00:24:30.450 even conventional love stories, were retrospectively 00:24:30.450 --> 00:24:32.269 reinterpreted as having hidden revolutionary 00:24:32.269 --> 00:24:35.230 messages. Verdi became a symbol of Italy itself. 00:24:35.589 --> 00:24:37.269 And he was pulled directly into the political 00:24:37.269 --> 00:24:39.529 arena by the architect of unification, Count 00:24:39.529 --> 00:24:42.410 Cavour. Cavour saw the immense symbolic power 00:24:42.410 --> 00:24:44.720 of having the nation. greatest artists involved. 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:47.559 Verdi was elected to the first Italian parliament 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:50.640 in 1861. He later accepted an appointment as 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:54.140 a senator in 1874. But the source material is 00:24:54.140 --> 00:24:57.339 very clear. Verdi was an artist, not a bureaucrat, 00:24:57.380 --> 00:24:59.559 and certainly not a full -time legislator. If 00:24:59.559 --> 00:25:01.640 he was so reluctant, was his involvement purely 00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:04.960 symbolic? Primarily symbolic, but he didn't neglect 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.559 his duties entirely. He accepted the role from 00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:09.940 Cavour out of profound respect for the man and 00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:12.240 the cause, but he confided that he would resign 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:14.900 after a few months. He attended only a few sessions. 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:17.480 As a senator, he was almost completely absent, 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:19.839 though he used his wealth and influence for major 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:22.519 philanthropic causes later on. Professionally, 00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:24.839 this late middle period is defined by the massive 00:25:24.839 --> 00:25:27.279 shadow of French influence, specifically the 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:29.900 genre of grand opera. This was a necessity for 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:32.779 international success. Grand opera meant longer 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:36.480 works, five acts, huge scope, large cast, complex 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:39.140 historical plots, and critically, an extensive 00:25:39.140 --> 00:25:42.680 ballet scene. The operas from L 'Evepe Sicilienne 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:45.509 through Ada really reflect this shift. This shift 00:25:45.509 --> 00:25:47.789 introduced more colorful orchestration and greater 00:25:47.789 --> 00:25:50.430 spectacle, but what distinguishes Verdi's grand 00:25:50.430 --> 00:25:53.890 opera from, say, Meyerbeer's? Unlike some of 00:25:53.890 --> 00:25:55.690 his contemporaries who might use spectacle purely 00:25:55.690 --> 00:25:58.609 as decoration, Verdi integrated it deeply into 00:25:58.609 --> 00:26:01.490 the drama. Even in works like Don Carlos, the 00:26:01.490 --> 00:26:03.789 sheer spectacle, the massive crowds, the political 00:26:03.789 --> 00:26:07.029 machinations is essential to the drama. The music 00:26:07.029 --> 00:26:09.690 remains taut, and he uses the scale to amplify 00:26:09.690 --> 00:26:12.519 the personal tragedy, not distract from it. This 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:16.039 all culminated in Aida in 1871, which has one 00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:18.380 of the most interesting origin stories, linking 00:26:18.380 --> 00:26:21.420 his work directly to global events. Aida was 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:23.220 commissioned by the Egyptian government for the 00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:25.940 new Cadivial Opera House, built to celebrate 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:28.500 the opening of the Suez Canal. Verdi was paid 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:31.900 the enormous sum of 150 ,000 francs. A staggering 00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:34.380 amount. A truly staggering amount. And despite 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:36.619 this financial incentive, he confessed that ancient 00:26:36.619 --> 00:26:38.759 Egypt was a civilization I have never been able 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:41.839 to admire. A classic Verdi grumble, showing his 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:44.200 focus was always on the drama and the musical 00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:46.859 execution, not the exotic setting. And the triumphal 00:26:46.859 --> 00:26:49.099 march in Aida is the ultimate expression of that 00:26:49.099 --> 00:26:51.859 grand opera influence. Absolutely. It's grand 00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:54.700 opera at its peak. But what makes it Verdi is 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:57.039 that even within that spectacle, the drama remains 00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:59.960 personal. The emotional weight rests on Aida, 00:27:00.079 --> 00:27:02.720 the slave, forced to choose between her love 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:04.920 for the general and her loyalty to her country. 00:27:05.309 --> 00:27:08.569 Verdi ensures the massive scale amplifies rather 00:27:08.569 --> 00:27:12.190 than dwarfs the emotional core. Amid supervising 00:27:12.190 --> 00:27:14.369 the intense Italian productions of Aida, where 00:27:14.369 --> 00:27:16.390 he was effectively the producer demanding high 00:27:16.390 --> 00:27:19.430 standards, he produced his most unusual and only 00:27:19.430 --> 00:27:22.130 surviving piece of chamber music. The string 00:27:22.130 --> 00:27:24.299 quartet in E minor. written during rehearsals 00:27:24.299 --> 00:27:27.240 in Naples in 1873. It's an anomaly. It stands 00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:29.380 as his sole surviving chamber work and the only 00:27:29.380 --> 00:27:31.740 major 19th century quartet by an Italian composer. 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:34.740 It's a lively, sophisticated piece. And the last 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:37.359 movement, a technically complex fugue, shows 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:39.420 he hadn't lost the academic skill he learned 00:27:39.420 --> 00:27:42.000 from Lavinia decades earlier. Following Aida, 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:44.799 we get the monumental Messa di Requiem in 1874. 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:48.460 This piece is often criticized as opera in ecclesiastical 00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:51.160 dress. Why did critics apply that label and why 00:27:51.160 --> 00:27:53.420 is it maybe unfair? It was completed to honor 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:56.400 the great Italian poet Alessandro Manzoni. And 00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:58.359 critics applied the label because it was scored 00:27:58.359 --> 00:28:02.160 for operatic forces, massive chorus, huge orchestra, 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:05.220 star soloists, and because the musical techniques, 00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:08.039 the dramatic vocal writing, were so clearly drawn 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:10.279 from the operatic stage. But the purpose and 00:28:10.279 --> 00:28:12.220 the execution are distinct from the stage, correct? 00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:14.759 Precisely. It's profoundly theatrical in scale, 00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:17.819 but the emotions are distinct. Critics have noted 00:28:17.819 --> 00:28:20.259 its fundamentally troubled tone and distinct 00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:23.180 lack of consolation. One said the prospect of 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:25.859 hell appears to rule. It captures human anxiety 00:28:25.859 --> 00:28:28.880 about mortality, fear and judgment. Profound 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:31.759 universal human drama, not necessarily the solace 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:34.119 you expect in liturgical music. This work also 00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:36.119 solidified his personal association with the 00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:39.099 spinto soprano Teresa Stoltz. What exactly defines 00:28:39.099 --> 00:28:42.359 a spinto soprano? A spinto -soprano voice. It 00:28:42.359 --> 00:28:45.480 means pushed or driven. It requires the lyrical 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:48.400 quality for romantic roles like Aida, but also 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:51.000 the power and dramatic punch to cut through a 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:53.519 massive orchestra during intense dramatic scenes, 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:56.519 or in the case of the Requiem, the immense dies 00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:59.559 irae. Stoltz, who premiered Aida in Europe and 00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:02.220 was the soloist for the Requiem, fit this mold 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:04.740 perfectly. She remained a companion to Verdi 00:29:04.740 --> 00:29:07.619 until his death. The Requiem cemented Verdi's 00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:10.299 status as the undisputed presiding genius of 00:29:10.299 --> 00:29:12.240 Italian music, and by the time it premiered, 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:14.319 many people thought he was finished composing. 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:16.420 But the greatest surprises of his career were 00:29:16.420 --> 00:29:19.000 still ahead. For over a decade after the Requiem, 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:21.359 Verdi seemed content to live the life of the 00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:24.259 aristocratic landowner. But then, in his 70s, 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:26.220 he surprised the world with an astonishing return 00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:29.079 to the stage. This final period is defined by 00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:31.039 his late career partnership with a man who had 00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:34.200 once been his public critic, Arrigo Boito. This 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:37.380 partnership is fascinating. Boito, a poet and 00:29:37.380 --> 00:29:39.500 composer, had been part of a younger generation 00:29:39.500 --> 00:29:42.220 that criticized Verdi's earlier reliance on formula. 00:29:42.619 --> 00:29:45.200 But the publisher, Giulio Ricordi, engineered 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:47.920 their reconciliation, knowing that Boito was 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:50.079 maybe the only librettist talented enough to 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:53.599 challenge Verdi. Boito proposed an opera based 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:55.950 on Shakespeare's Othello. The composition was 00:29:55.950 --> 00:29:59.230 slow, highly secretive, delayed by Verdi's revisions 00:29:59.230 --> 00:30:01.509 of earlier works like Simon Bucanegra and Don 00:30:01.509 --> 00:30:04.670 Carlos. But Otello finally premiered triumphantly 00:30:04.670 --> 00:30:08.450 in 1887, 16 years after Aida, proving his creative 00:30:08.450 --> 00:30:11.230 powers were not only intact, but had deepened 00:30:11.230 --> 00:30:13.490 considerably. The musical world was watching. 00:30:13.950 --> 00:30:15.769 Especially because Richard Wagner's influence 00:30:15.769 --> 00:30:18.750 was at its peak, many critics sought or claimed 00:30:18.750 --> 00:30:21.890 to find Wagnerian aspects in Othello, the continuous 00:30:21.890 --> 00:30:24.869 music, the complex orchestral texture. But the 00:30:24.869 --> 00:30:27.230 analysis shows he wasn't embracing the new German 00:30:27.230 --> 00:30:30.009 school. He was synthesizing decades of his own 00:30:30.009 --> 00:30:32.390 dramatic practice. Why did his approach remain 00:30:32.390 --> 00:30:35.009 so fundamentally Italian? Well, while the musical 00:30:35.009 --> 00:30:37.869 texture is continuous, Verdi always prioritized 00:30:37.869 --> 00:30:40.849 the vocal line and dramatic climax above systematic, 00:30:41.190 --> 00:30:44.319 light -motivic theory. His music was driven by 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:47.240 dramatic realism, not philosophical manifestos. 00:30:47.279 --> 00:30:49.700 You see this in the powerful, unique storm that 00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:52.279 opens the opera in medias, re -splunging you 00:30:52.279 --> 00:30:54.900 right into the chaos. And the concept of tinta, 00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:57.799 that golden thread of musical color, is used 00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:00.930 so profoundly here. Absolutely. The memory of 00:31:00.930 --> 00:31:03.750 the love duet from Act 1 is recalled in Otello's 00:31:03.750 --> 00:31:06.309 dying words in Act 4. This provides emotional 00:31:06.309 --> 00:31:08.589 and psychological continuity, Verdi's tinta, 00:31:08.710 --> 00:31:11.769 without resorting to the dense, systematic leitmotifs 00:31:11.769 --> 00:31:13.849 associated with Wagner. He took what he needed 00:31:13.849 --> 00:31:15.950 from modern orchestral practice, but remained 00:31:15.950 --> 00:31:18.170 fiercely committed to the Italian emphasis on 00:31:18.170 --> 00:31:20.630 the voice as the vessel for passion. After achieving 00:31:20.630 --> 00:31:23.349 such profound tragedy with Otello, Verdi, now 00:31:23.349 --> 00:31:25.549 approaching 80, decided he needed a lighter note 00:31:25.549 --> 00:31:28.289 for his finale. He famously joked that after 00:31:28.289 --> 00:31:43.359 having relent - And even in his old age, Verdi 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:45.460 embraced the project with just extraordinary 00:31:45.460 --> 00:31:51.609 enthusiasm. He wrote, so be it. So let's do Falstaff. 00:31:51.750 --> 00:31:54.250 For now, let's not think of obstacles, of age, 00:31:54.390 --> 00:31:56.829 of illnesses. Yeah. And using his own capital 00:31:56.829 --> 00:31:59.390 letters and exclamation points, reflecting his 00:31:59.390 --> 00:32:02.269 sheer joy, he wrote, what joy to be able to say 00:32:02.269 --> 00:32:04.529 to the public, here we are again. Come and see 00:32:04.529 --> 00:32:07.529 us. Falstaff in 1893 was a crowning achievement, 00:32:07.690 --> 00:32:11.150 a truly dazzling finale. Royalty, aristocracy, 00:32:11.269 --> 00:32:14.319 leading critics all attended the premiere. Musically, 00:32:14.440 --> 00:32:16.599 why is Falstaff considered such a monumental, 00:32:16.920 --> 00:32:19.440 forward -looking achievement? Well, one critic 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:28.359 notes that the listener is is a miracle of energy. 00:32:28.579 --> 00:32:31.279 Another describes it as Verdi miniaturizing himself 00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:34.039 and the previous forms of romantic Italian opera. 00:32:34.200 --> 00:32:36.440 Instead of long arias, you have these short, 00:32:36.539 --> 00:32:39.339 crystal -clear phrases that embody complex feelings. 00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:42.319 It's a non -stop rush of ensemble singing and 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:44.980 musical wit. And it ends with that profound philosophical 00:32:44.980 --> 00:32:48.279 statement, an opera buffa fugue that sums up 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:51.000 his entire life philosophy. The famous concluding 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:54.000 fugue features the lines, Tutto nel mondo è burla, 00:32:54.140 --> 00:32:57.240 ma ride vinci l 'era risata final. Everything 00:32:57.240 --> 00:33:00.180 in the world is a jest, but he laughs well. Who 00:33:00.180 --> 00:33:03.039 laughs the final laugh? It's a witty, detached, 00:33:03.180 --> 00:33:05.220 final curtain call for a composer who specialized 00:33:05.220 --> 00:33:08.019 in the intense drama of human folly. In his last 00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:10.099 years, Verdi turned his attention wholly toward 00:33:10.099 --> 00:33:12.480 philanthropy, securing his legacy as a man who 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:14.980 used his wealth for the common good. His crowning 00:33:14.980 --> 00:33:17.680 philanthropic achievement was planning, building, 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:21.440 and endowing the Casa di Deposo per Rizzichisti, 00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:24.500 the rest home for musicians in Milan. It was 00:33:24.500 --> 00:33:27.259 a final, massive act of generosity to his professional 00:33:27.259 --> 00:33:29.839 community, ensuring dignity for aging artists. 00:33:30.140 --> 00:33:32.559 He also built a hospital in Villanova Salarda. 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:35.519 His final major composition was the choral Four 00:33:35.519 --> 00:33:39.039 Sacred Pieces in 1898. Verdi died in Milan in 00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:41.539 1901 after a stroke. The scale of the public 00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:44.140 grief reflected his stature as a national, almost 00:33:44.140 --> 00:33:46.539 mythical figure. His body was initially buried 00:33:46.539 --> 00:33:48.460 privately, but a month later it was moved to 00:33:48.460 --> 00:33:50.980 the crypt of the Casa de Opozo. The demonstration 00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:53.920 of national mourning was immense. Arturo Toscanini 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:56.440 conducted a chorus of 820 singers performing 00:33:56.440 --> 00:33:59.880 Va, Pensiero. The sources estimate that 300 ,000 00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:02.000 people were in attendance, a monumental send 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:04.400 -off that affirmed his place not just as a composer, 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:07.079 but as a symbol of united Italy. Lift, pull back 00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:08.860 now and look at the man behind the music and 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:11.400 the myths he so carefully cultivated. The source 00:34:11.400 --> 00:34:13.679 describes him as an intensely private man who 00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:16.280 built legends about himself and was, frankly, 00:34:16.460 --> 00:34:18.659 a bit of a grumbler. John Roselli sums him up 00:34:18.659 --> 00:34:22.219 with admirable honesty. Verdi was an intensely 00:34:22.219 --> 00:34:25.639 private man who deeply resented efforts to inquire 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:28.280 into his personal affairs. He fostered legends 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:30.579 about his peasant origins and was characterized 00:34:30.579 --> 00:34:33.900 by some as an autocratic rentier, cum estate 00:34:33.900 --> 00:34:37.000 owner, part -time composer, and seemingly full 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:39.519 -time grumbler. So he had become so wealthy and 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:42.179 controlling that he ran his estate and his musical 00:34:42.179 --> 00:34:44.280 output like a powerful independent landlord. 00:34:44.820 --> 00:34:47.539 Precisely. Yet critics agree that beneath the 00:34:47.539 --> 00:34:49.760 grumbling and the carefully constructed facade, 00:34:50.139 --> 00:34:53.900 a deep integrity runs beneath his life. He was 00:34:53.900 --> 00:34:56.539 awkward as society, preferring the quiet of Santa 00:34:56.539 --> 00:34:58.400 Gata to the intrusion of journalists and high 00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:00.340 society. What about his spiritual life? He wrote 00:35:00.340 --> 00:35:02.400 the Monumental Requiem, but was he a man of faith? 00:35:02.619 --> 00:35:05.679 His religious beliefs were vague at best. Straponi 00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:08.260 wrote in 1871 that he was not much of a believer, 00:35:08.460 --> 00:35:11.019 though in that unique blend of pragmatism and 00:35:11.019 --> 00:35:13.440 traditionalism, he did build a chapel at Senegheta. 00:35:13.820 --> 00:35:15.860 The troubled tone of the Requiem is telling. 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:18.480 It focuses on the terror and anxiety of judgment 00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:21.059 rather than offering Christian consolation. Shifting 00:35:21.059 --> 00:35:23.460 to his unique musical spirit, the philosopher 00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:26.480 Isaiah Berlin classified Verdi as a naive artist. 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:29.960 Now that term sounds almost insulting for a genius 00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:32.579 of his stature, yet it's a profound philosophical 00:35:32.579 --> 00:35:36.280 categorization. What did Berlin mean? It's based 00:35:36.280 --> 00:35:39.480 on a dichotomy developed by Schiller. A naive 00:35:39.480 --> 00:35:41.860 artist is one who embodies their artistic vision 00:35:41.860 --> 00:35:44.480 naturally, without needing self -conscious theory 00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:47.460 or philosophical manifestos. They simply do the 00:35:47.460 --> 00:35:49.719 vision, intuitively reaching dramatic truth. 00:35:50.110 --> 00:35:52.269 This contrasts sharply with the sentimental artist, 00:35:52.449 --> 00:35:55.489 the category where Wagner sits. Exactly. Wagner 00:35:55.489 --> 00:35:58.630 sought to recreate nature based on internal philosophy, 00:35:58.889 --> 00:36:01.510 detailed aesthetic theories, a constant need 00:36:01.510 --> 00:36:04.130 to explain his revolutionary intent. It makes 00:36:04.130 --> 00:36:06.289 perfect sense, considering Verdi was recorded 00:36:06.289 --> 00:36:08.510 as expressing genuine confusion about philosophical 00:36:08.510 --> 00:36:11.489 music. He focused solely on dramatic truth and 00:36:11.489 --> 00:36:14.329 passion, not academic justification. And this 00:36:14.329 --> 00:36:16.670 commitment to dramatic truth is unified by his 00:36:16.670 --> 00:36:19.429 key musical concept. Tinta, literally meaning 00:36:19.429 --> 00:36:22.030 color. Verdi himself called it the golden thread 00:36:22.030 --> 00:36:23.909 that binds all the parts together of an opera. 00:36:24.130 --> 00:36:26.670 And we can see how tinta works in practice in 00:36:26.670 --> 00:36:29.730 Rigoletto. The tinta there isn't just one melody, 00:36:29.809 --> 00:36:32.570 but a pervasive atmosphere. The most striking 00:36:32.570 --> 00:36:35.510 example is the recurring, powerful musical motif 00:36:35.510 --> 00:36:39.190 associated with Monterone's Curse. This motif, 00:36:39.510 --> 00:36:42.610 a dark, descending figure, is not a Wagnerian 00:36:42.610 --> 00:36:45.349 leitmotif. It's an emotional symbol. It appears 00:36:45.349 --> 00:36:47.409 immediately after the curse, often in the orchestra, 00:36:47.670 --> 00:36:50.510 binding Rigoletto's subsequent paranoia and tragedy 00:36:50.510 --> 00:36:53.210 throughout the entire opera. It ensures the piece 00:36:53.210 --> 00:36:55.510 is a cohesive, unified theatrical experience 00:36:55.510 --> 00:36:58.250 built around the consequences of a single fateful 00:36:58.250 --> 00:37:01.170 action. This insistence on musical and dramatic 00:37:01.170 --> 00:37:03.929 unity transcended the traditional formulaic structure 00:37:03.929 --> 00:37:07.190 of early Italian opera. Finally, let's look at 00:37:07.190 --> 00:37:10.309 his enduring legacy. He was esteemed at his death, 00:37:10.489 --> 00:37:12.510 but how does his work resonate culturally now, 00:37:12.710 --> 00:37:15.889 120 years later? He remains globally esteemed. 00:37:15.929 --> 00:37:18.530 All of his 29 operas are recorded and frequently 00:37:18.530 --> 00:37:21.409 staged worldwide. And his cultural reach extends 00:37:21.409 --> 00:37:24.269 far beyond the opera house, popping up in fascinating 00:37:24.269 --> 00:37:27.050 modern contexts. Like Jonathan Miller's famous 00:37:27.050 --> 00:37:29.829 1982 production of Rigoletto, which set the story 00:37:29.829 --> 00:37:32.610 among modern American mafiosi. Which demonstrates 00:37:32.610 --> 00:37:35.210 that the themes of corruption, revenge, and the 00:37:35.210 --> 00:37:38.960 abuse of power are just timeless. or the solemn, 00:37:39.059 --> 00:37:41.400 powerful use of excerpts from his requiem at 00:37:41.400 --> 00:37:44.219 the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. 00:37:44.739 --> 00:37:47.179 The theatrical scope provided the appropriate 00:37:47.179 --> 00:37:50.079 emotional weight for a global tragedy. Perhaps 00:37:50.079 --> 00:37:52.340 the most visceral example of his continuing political 00:37:52.340 --> 00:37:56.000 symbolism occurred in 2011. That event was extraordinary. 00:37:56.559 --> 00:37:59.940 During a performance of Nabucco in Rome, conductor 00:37:59.940 --> 00:38:03.500 Riccardo Muti stopped after Va Penthiro to address 00:38:03.500 --> 00:38:06.079 the audience about cuts in state cultural funding. 00:38:06.690 --> 00:38:09.690 In a spontaneous, powerful act of unity, the 00:38:09.690 --> 00:38:11.670 entire audience, including parliamentarians, 00:38:11.769 --> 00:38:14.369 join Muti and the chorus in an encore, reminding 00:38:14.369 --> 00:38:16.730 everyone that this music is still a living symbol 00:38:16.730 --> 00:38:18.929 of national identity. And even popular culture 00:38:18.929 --> 00:38:22.110 gets in on the act. Katy Perry wore a dress embroidered 00:38:22.110 --> 00:38:25.050 with music from La Traviata to the Grammys. Proving 00:38:25.050 --> 00:38:26.869 his melodies remain part of the global cultural 00:38:26.869 --> 00:38:30.530 lexicon. So what does this all mean? We've traced 00:38:30.530 --> 00:38:33.400 the complex tapestry of the man. the financial 00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:35.980 genius who secured his independence through land, 00:38:36.219 --> 00:38:38.880 the grieving widower who channeled personal tragedy 00:38:38.880 --> 00:38:41.800 into his art, the reluctant politician whose 00:38:41.800 --> 00:38:44.219 name became a revolutionary acronym, and the 00:38:44.219 --> 00:38:46.599 innovator who consciously shattered the confines 00:38:46.599 --> 00:38:49.239 of traditional Italian opera to create profound 00:38:49.239 --> 00:38:53.340 realism. He achieved wealth, authority, and immortality, 00:38:53.420 --> 00:38:56.000 all while remaining stubbornly resistant to the 00:38:56.000 --> 00:38:58.780 public glare. He took the established forms of 00:38:58.780 --> 00:39:01.679 the autocento and imbued them with a new psychological 00:39:01.679 --> 00:39:04.519 truth, ensuring his characters, however flawed, 00:39:04.820 --> 00:39:07.360 sang with authentic, passionate voices that speak 00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:09.880 to us still. As we wrap up this deep dive, let's 00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:11.380 go back to one of the most interesting business 00:39:11.380 --> 00:39:13.860 moves of his career, the secrecy surrounding 00:39:13.860 --> 00:39:16.880 La Donna Immobile. Verdi knew this tune would 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:19.579 be a massive hit, and he withheld it from all 00:39:19.579 --> 00:39:22.440 but one tenor to prevent piracy and ensure the 00:39:22.440 --> 00:39:24.719 initial commercial success of the opera. He was 00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:27.320 a consummate realist, intensely focused on financial 00:39:27.320 --> 00:39:29.500 security and the integrity of his artistic products. 00:39:29.880 --> 00:39:32.739 He had an eye not just for a good tune, but for 00:39:32.739 --> 00:39:34.960 its value, its market potential, and its proper 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:38.239 application. So, given that Verity valued knowledge, 00:39:38.659 --> 00:39:40.880 application, and critical thinking above all 00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:43.320 else, what would he make of this early maneuver? 00:39:43.900 --> 00:39:46.599 Was it simply business savvy and early recognition 00:39:46.599 --> 00:39:50.199 of the power and danger of a viral earworm? And 00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:52.840 if Verdi, the shrewd businessman and realist, 00:39:52.860 --> 00:39:54.880 felt the need to manage the release of his most 00:39:54.880 --> 00:39:58.460 valuable creative assets 170 years ago, how might 00:39:58.460 --> 00:40:00.780 that philosophy inform how modern creators and 00:40:00.780 --> 00:40:03.099 media companies manage creative assets today, 00:40:03.219 --> 00:40:06.679 in a world where piracy is instantaneous and 00:40:06.679 --> 00:40:09.489 viral success is fleeting and immediate? That's 00:40:09.489 --> 00:40:11.449 a great question. That idea of controlling the 00:40:11.449 --> 00:40:13.610 release of intellectual properties seems more 00:40:13.610 --> 00:40:16.429 relevant now than ever. It absolutely does. It 00:40:16.429 --> 00:40:18.690 suggests that the strategy of prevention is better 00:40:18.690 --> 00:40:21.230 than cure, whether you're dealing with 19th century 00:40:21.230 --> 00:40:23.610 street musicians or 21st century file sharing, 00:40:23.789 --> 00:40:26.190 is a timeless principle for the successful creative 00:40:26.190 --> 00:40:28.650 professional. He was simply ahead of his time 00:40:28.650 --> 00:40:31.050 in understanding commercial value. That's a fascinating 00:40:31.050 --> 00:40:33.210 question for you to ponder. That's all the time 00:40:33.210 --> 00:40:35.150 we have for this deep dive into the life and 00:40:35.150 --> 00:40:37.230 works of Giuseppe Verdi. Thank you for joining 00:40:37.230 --> 00:40:37.449 us.