Verdi
In his early operas, Verdi demonstrated a sympathy with the Risorgimento movement which sought the unification of Italy. He also participated briefly as an elected politician. The chorus "Va, pensiero" from his early opera Nabucco (1842), and similar choruses in later operas, were much in the spirit of the unification movement, and the composer himself became esteemed as a representative of these ideals. An intensely private person, Verdi, however, did not seek to ingratiate himself with popular movements and as he became professionally successful was able to reduce his operatic workload and sought to establish himself as a landowner in his native region. He surprised the musical world by returning, after his success with the opera Aida (1871), with three late masterpieces: his Requiem (1874), and the operas Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893).
His operas remain extremely popular, especially the three peaks of his 'middle period': Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La traviata, and the 2013 bicentenary of his birth was widely celebrated in broadcasts and performances.
Verdi
In his early ope...
VERDI La Forza del Destino
with rare bonus tracks:
VERDI La Forza del Destino (overture & orchestral excerpts, Dresden, 1926)
VERDI Luisa Miller - Overture (Chicago, 1947)
Live stage recording, 1951
Total duration: 2hr 51:54
Leonora - Walburga Wegner
Alvaro - David Poleri
Carlo - Marko Rothmüller
Guardiano - Bruce Dargavel
Preziosilla - Mildred Miller
Glyndebourne Festival Chorus
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Fritz Busch
VERDI Aïda
Studio recording, 1955
Total duration: 2hr 24:40
Maria Callas - Aïda
Richard Tucker - Radamès
Fedora Barbieri - Amneris
Tito Gobbi - Amonasro
Giuseppe Modesti - Ramfis
Nicola Zaccaria - Il re d'Egitto
Elvira Galassi - Una sacerdotessa
Franco Ricciardi - Un messaggero
Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala, Milan
conducted by Tullio Serafin
VERDI Il Trovatore
Studio recording, 1956
Total duration: 2hr 9:37
Maria Callas - Leonora
Rolando Panerai - Il Conte Di Luna
Fedora Barbieri - Azucena
Giuseppe Di Stefano - Manrico
Nicola Zaccaria - Ferrando
Coro e Orchestra de Teatro alla Scala, Milano
conducted by Herbert von Karajan
VERDI La Forza del Destino
Studio recording, 1954
Total duration: 2hr 45:00
Donna Leonora - Maria Callas
Don Alvaro - Richard Tucker
Don Carlo di Vargas - Carlo Tagliabue
Il Padre Guardiano - Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Preziosilla - Elena Nicolai
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan
conducted by Tullio Serafin
Studio recording, 1953
Total duration: 2hr 2:07
Alfredo Germont - Francesco Albanese (tenor)
Giorgio Germont - Ugo Savarese (baritone)
Coro Cetra
Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI
Conductor Gabriele Santini
VERDI Rigoletto
Studio recording, 1955
Total duration: 1hr 57:57
Gilda - Maria Callas
Duca di Mantova - Giuseppe di Stefano
Sparafucile - Nicola Zaccaria
Tullio Serafin, conductor
Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan