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قراءة كتاب Verdi: Man and Musician His Biography with Especial Reference to His English Experiences

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Verdi: Man and Musician
His Biography with Especial Reference to His English Experiences

Verdi: Man and Musician His Biography with Especial Reference to His English Experiences

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دار النشر: Project Gutenberg
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The Project Gutenberg eBook, Verdi: Man and Musician, by Frederick James Crowest

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Verdi: Man and Musician

His Biography with Especial Reference to His English Experiences

Author: Frederick James Crowest

Release Date: July 17, 2014 [eBook #46316]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VERDI: MAN AND MUSICIAN***

 

E-text prepared by David Tipple
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)
from page images generously made available by
Internet Archive/American Libraries
(https://archive.org/details/americana)

 

Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive/American Libraries. See https://archive.org/details/verdimanmusician00crow

 

Transcriber's Note

There are 5 illustrations, placed where they appear in the book. A list of these illustrations with a link to each of them can be found below the table of contents.

There are many footnotes, numbered consecutively from 1 to 83; each of them is placed at the end of the chapter where it is referenced.


 


VERDI:
man and musician


BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
"THE STORY OF BRITISH MUSIC."
"CHERUBINI" ("GREAT MUSICIANS" SERIES).
"PHASES OF MUSICAL ENGLAND."
"ADVICE TO SINGERS." (12th Thousand.)
Etc. Etc.


A signed photograph of Giuseppe Verdi.
The inscription reads
"Genova 18 feb[braio]. 1897. G Verdi"

VERDI:
Man and Musician

His Biography with Especial
Reference to his English
Experiences

By

Frederick J. Crowest

Author of
"The Great Tone Poets," etc.

john milne
12 norfolk street, strand
london
mdcccxcvii


Publisher's logo

To
MADAME ADELINA PATTI NICOLINI
EMPRESS OF SONG
Whose Transcendent Vocal and Histrionic Powers
HAVE
Contributed so largely to an adequate appreciation
of the genius of
VERDI
This Monograph of the Master is
by Expressed Permission
DEDICATED


CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

BIRTH, PARENTAGE, AND CHILD-LIFE

Verdi's birth and birth-place—Dispute as to his township—Baptismal certificate—His parentage—The parents' circumstances—The osteria kept by them—A regular market-man—A mixed business—Verdi's early surroundings and influences—Verdi not a musical wonder or show-child—His natural child-life—Enchanted with street organ—Quiet manner as a child—Acolyte at Roncole Church—Enraptured with the organ music—Is bought a spinet—Practises incessantly—Gratuitous spinet repairs—To school at Busseto—Slender board and curriculum—First musical instruction—An apt pupil

CHAPTER II.

CLERK, STUDENT, AND PROFESSOR

Verdi goes into the world—Office-boy in Barezzi's establishment—Congenial surroundings—An exceptional employer—Verdi becomes a pupil of Provesi—A painstaking copyist—Verdi wanted for a priest—Latin elements—Appointed organist of Roncole—A record salary—Barezzi's encouragement of Verdi's tastes—Father Seletti and Verdi's organ-playing—Provesi's status and friendship towards Verdi—Milan training for Verdi—Refused at the Conservatoire—Experience and training needed—Study under Vincenzo Lavigna of La Scala—Death of Provesi, and assumption of his Busseto duties by Verdi Page 16


CHAPTER III.

COURTSHIP, MARRIAGE, AND FIRST OPERATIC SUCCESS

Verdi is engaged class="csummary"to Margarita Barezzi—His marriage—Seeks a wider field in Milan—An emergency conductor—Conductor of the Milan Philharmonic Society—His first opera, Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio—Terms for production—Its success—A triple commission—A woman's sacrifice—Clouds—Death of his wife and children—Un Giorno di Regno produced—A failure—Verdi disgusted with music—Destroys Merelli contract—The Nabucco libretto forced on Verdi—Induced to set the book—Production of Nabucco with success—Opposition from the critics—Mr. Lumley gives Nabucco in London—Its performance and reception Page 27

CHAPTER IV.

SUCCESS, AND INTRODUCTION INTO ENGLAND

Verdi's position assured—Selected to compose an opera d'obbligo—The terms—I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata—Its dramatis personæ and argument—Reception at La Scala—A new triumph for Verdi—I Lombardi in London, 1846—Ernani—Political effect of Ernani—Official interference—Verdi first introduced into England—Mr. Lumley's production of Ernani at Her Majesty's Theatre—The reception of the opera—Criticism on ErnaniAthenæum and Ernani Page 49

CHAPTER V.

FIRST PERIOD WORKS

I Due Foscari—Its argument—Failure of the opera in Rome, Paris, and London—Giovanna d'Arco—A moderate success—AlziraAttila—More political enthusiasm—Attila given at Her Majesty's Theatre by Mr. Lumley—Its cool reception—The Times and Athenæum critics on Attila—Exceptional activity of Verdi—MacbethJerusalem in

Pages