Fly, Thought, on Golden Wings

Fly, thought, on golden wings Rose Marie Boudeguer Yerkovic Director, Research Services MONTHLY STRATEGY REPORT July 2015 Monthly Strategy Report. July 2015 Fly, thought, on golden wings “It is said that success requires talent, hard work, and an embrace of the opportunities that arise. But equally as important is the ability to overcome defeat. This month’s story is a tale of triumph, like many others in fields as diverse as art, sport, and business”. The young man sheepishly opened the immense door of the audition room and entered. Opposite him, the three examiners from the Conservatory leered with curiosity and suspicion. They had never assessed someone so old. He played two pieces, but his fate was sealed after the first. The examiners were appalled at the curvature of his back and the way in which he rested his fingers on the keyboard. The second piece was an original composition to which the examiners paid no attention. They had already made their decision. “We are sorry, your technique is unsatisfactory and nineteen is too old to correct it,” they said. “But I don’t want to be a pianist,” he protested, “I want to be a composer.” Sixty-six years later, the same man received a letter from the Ministry of Culture suggesting his name grace the Conservatory. “If you didn’t want me when I was young, you shan’t have me old,” he responded. But ultimately the Milan Conservatory prevailed, changing its name to the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music. Verdi was born on 10 October 1813 in a small town near the city of Busseto, in the Duchy of Parma. His father was an innkeeper and his mother a spinner. Unable to provide the boy with a formal education, his parents sent him to the local church, where the pastor taught him to read and write. The church organist discovered his interest in music and taught him the basic concepts. He learned to play the organ and composed pieces for the church. At the age of 12, his father sent him to Busseto to study as an apprentice under the grocer and distiller, Antonio Barezzi. By coincidence, Barezzi was a great lover of music and, having taken an interest in Verdi’s compositions, gave him the opportunity to study with the director of the Busseto School of Music. In those early years, Verdi composed church music, marches and cantatas. And so it was that in January of 1832, at nearly 19 years of age, he decided to travel to Milan to complete his training at the city’s celebrated Conservatory of Music, where his first major disappointment awaited him. After being rejected by the Conservatory, Verdi – still under the patronage of Barezzi – became a private pupil of Vincenzo Lavigna, a professor at the Conservatory who played the harpsichord at La Scala in Milan. Lavigna not only contributed extensively to Verdi’s musical education, he introduced him to Milan’s thriving music scene. In 1836, life seemed to smile on him. He composed his first opera, “Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio,” which famed La Scala impresario, Bartolomeo Merelli, promised to stage at the opera house. That same year, he married Margarita, the love of his young life and eldest daughter of Barezzi. In 1837, the couple gave birth to a daughter; a son followed a year later. But his happiness was short-lived. In October 1838, his daughter died and in October 1839, his son also passed away. His “Oberto” had debuted a month prior at La Scala, and was well-received by the public, a promising start for Verdi. Months later, however, a third fatality occurred when his wife died at the young age of 26. Monthly Strategy Report. July 2015 The composer was devastated by the string of tragic events. When Merelli offered him a new libretto to compose, Verdi initially refused because it was a comic opera, incompatible with the overwhelming sorrow he felt. But his friends – the director of the Philharmonic, Pietro Massini, and the famous soprano, Giuseppina Strepponi – convinced him to pull himself together. Verdi quickly composed the opera, entitled “King for a Day,” which opened on 5 September 1840 at La Scala, and was a resounding failure. Verdi grew increasingly despondent and vowed never to compose again. Two years passed before his friends managed to convince him to return to music. Merelli presented him with another libretto, entitled “Nabucodonosor,” a drama based on biblical scripture. Verdi returned to his empty apartment and tossed the manuscript on the table. Year later he would recount that the manuscript fell open and he read the lines “Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate…” (“Fly, thought, on golden wings…). The text explored the vicissitudes suffered by the Jewish people under the despotic rule of the tyrant Nebuchadnezzar. Verdi equated these events with the plight of his own people: the Jews symbolised the Italians and Nebuchadnezzar represented the tyranny of the Austrian Empire. In the second half of the 19th century, the nationalist desire for unification that gripped Europe had gained a foothold in Italy. Since the collapse of the Roman Empire, Italy had been a divided nation, fractured into autonomous states, often ruled by other nations, primarily, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Moved by the libretto, Verdi, an ardent patriot and staunch supporter of the liberal ideals prevailing in Europe at the time, set aside his grief and summoned all of his artistic talent to assist the cause he advocated. The opera debuted at La Scala on 9 March 1842 and was a colossal success. Audiences quickly committed the chorus – which they called “Nabucco” – to memory and repeated it everywhere. From that moment on, the Maestro Verdi worked tirelessly. Over the next 15 years, he wrote and successfully staged nearly 20 operas, including his most famous compositions “Rigoletto,” “Il Trovatore,” and “La Traviata” (1853), which address themes of former Italian triumphs and the fight against political oppression. At 35, the composer had achieved international renown and his works were performed in theatres around the world. In his later years, he created operas that critics would consider technically perfect, such as “Aida,” “Othello,” and “Falstaff.” In 1874 Verdi was appointed to the Italian Senate, and that same year, he performed “Requiem,” commemorating the death of writer Alessandro Manzoni, celebrated for his support of Italian reunification. Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan on 29 January 1901. His death caused tremendous commotion among the people, who gathered around the funeral procession and spontaneously erupted in song, intoning the chorus of the slaves from Nabucco: Fly, though, on golden wings… .

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