Editing Giuseppe Verdi (section)

==Life==
[[File:Giuseppe Verdi baptismal certificate.jpg|thumb|The baptismal certificate of Giuseppe Verdi]]
===Childhood and education===
[[File:Rodný dům Giuseppe Verdiho v Roncole - Itálie - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Verdi's childhood home at Le Roncole<!--Verdi was not born here, see Rosselli, page 13.-->]]
Verdi, the first child of Carlo Giuseppe Verdi and Luigia Uttini, was born at their home in [[Le Roncole]], a village near [[Busseto]], then in the [[Taro (département)|Département Taro]] and within the borders of the [[First French Empire]]. The baptismal register, prepared on 11 October 1813, lists his parents Carlo and Luigia as "innkeeper" and "spinner" respectively. Additionally, it lists Verdi as being "born yesterday", but since days were often considered to begin at sunset, this could have meant either 9 or 10 October.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§2}} Following his mother, Verdi always celebrated his birthday on 9 October, the day he himself believed he was born.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=12}}

Verdi had a younger sister, Giuseppa, who died aged 17 in 1833.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=12}} She is said to have been his closest friend during childhood.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|2004|p=4}} From age four Verdi was given private lessons in Latin and Italian by the village schoolmaster, Baistrocchi, and at six he attended the local school. After learning to play the organ, he showed so much interest in music that his parents finally provided him with a [[spinet]].{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=14}} Verdi's gift for music was already apparent by 1820–21 when he began his association with the local church, serving in the choir, acting as an [[altar boy]] for a while, and taking organ lessons. After Baistrocchi's death, Verdi, at the age of eight, became the official paid organist.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=17–21}}

[[File:Ritratto di Antonio Barezzi.jpg|upright|thumb|right|Antonio Barezzi, Verdi's patron and later father-in-law]]The music historian [[Roger Parker]] points out that both of Verdi's parents <blockquote>belonged to families of small landowners and traders, certainly not the illiterate peasants from which Verdi later liked to present himself as having emerged... Carlo Verdi was energetic in furthering his son's education...something which Verdi tended to hide in later life... [T]he picture emerges of youthful precocity eagerly nurtured by an ambitious father and of a sustained, sophisticated and elaborate formal education.{{sfn|Parker|1998|p=933}}</blockquote>

In 1823, when he was 10, Verdi's parents arranged for the boy to attend school in Busseto, enrolling him in a ''Ginnasio''—an upper school for boys—run by Don Pietro Seletti, while they continued to run their inn at Le Roncole. Verdi returned to Busseto regularly to play the organ on Sundays, covering the distance of several kilometres on foot.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=20–21}} At age 11, Verdi received schooling in [[Italian language| Italian]], [[Latin]], the [[humanities]], and [[rhetoric]]. By the time he was 12, he began lessons with [[Ferdinando Provesi]], ''maestro di cappella'' at San Bartolomeo, director of the municipal music school and co-director of the local ''Società Filarmonica'' (Philharmonic Society). Verdi later stated: "From the ages of 13 to 18 I wrote a motley assortment of pieces: marches for band by the hundred, perhaps as many little ''sinfonie'' that were used in church, in the theatre and at concerts, five or six concertos and sets of [[variation (music)|variations]] for pianoforte, which I played myself at concerts, many [[serenade]]s, [[cantata]]s ([[aria]]s, duets, very many trios) and various pieces of church music, of which I remember only a ''[[Stabat Mater]]''."{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§2}} This information comes from the ''Autobiographical Sketch'' which Verdi dictated to the publisher [[Giulio Ricordi]] late in life, in 1879, and remains the leading source for his early life and career.{{sfn|Kimbell|1981|p=92}} Written, understandably, with the benefit of hindsight, it is not always reliable when dealing with issues more contentious than those of his childhood.{{sfn|Parker|2007|pp=2–3}}{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§3}}

[[File:Margherita barezzi2-1-.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Margherita Barezzi, Verdi's first wife]]The other director of the Philharmonic Society was {{Interlanguage link|Antonio Barezzi|it}}, a wholesale grocer and distiller, who was described by a contemporary as a "manic dilettante" of music. The young Verdi did not immediately become involved with the Philharmonic. By June 1827, he had graduated with honours from the ''Ginnasio'' and was able to focus solely on music under Provesi. By chance, when he was 13, Verdi was asked to step in as a replacement to play in what became his first public event in his home town; he was an immediate success mostly playing his own music to the surprise of many and receiving strong local recognition.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=27–30}}

By 1829–30, Verdi had established himself as a leader of the Philharmonic: "none of us could rival him" reported the secretary of the organisation, Giuseppe Demaldè. An eight-movement cantata, ''I deliri di Saul'', based on a drama by [[Vittorio Alfieri]], was written by Verdi when he was 15 and performed in [[Bergamo]]. It was acclaimed by both Demaldè and Barezzi, who commented: "He shows a vivid imagination, a philosophical outlook, and sound judgment in the arrangement of instrumental parts."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=32}} In late 1829, Verdi had completed his studies with Provesi, who declared that he had no more to teach Verdi.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=35}} At the time, Verdi had been giving singing and piano lessons to Barezzi's daughter Margherita; by 1831, they were unofficially engaged.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§2}}

Verdi set his sights on Milan, then the cultural capital of northern Italy, where he applied unsuccessfully to study at the [[Milan Conservatory|Conservatory]].{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§2}} Barezzi made arrangements for him to become a private pupil of {{Interlanguage link|Vincenzo Lavigna|it}}, who had been ''maestro concertatore'' at [[La Scala]], and who described Verdi's compositions as "very promising".{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=46}} Lavigna encouraged Verdi to take out a subscription to La Scala, where he heard [[Maria Malibran]] in operas by [[Gioachino Rossini]] and [[Vincenzo Bellini]].{{sfn|Parker|2007|p=1}} Verdi began making connections in the Milanese world of music that were to stand him in good stead. These included an introduction by Lavigna to an amateur choral group, the ''Società Filarmonica'', led by Pietro Massini.{{sfn|Werfel|Stefan|1973|pp=80–93}} Attending the ''Società'' frequently in 1834, Verdi soon found himself functioning as rehearsal director (for Rossini's ''[[La Cenerentola]]'') and continuo player. It was Massini who encouraged him to write his first opera, originally titled ''Rocester'', to a libretto by the journalist Antonio Piazza.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§2}}

===1834–1842: First operas===
[[File:Temistocle Solera.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Temistocle Solera]], Verdi's first librettist]]
{{Further|List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi}}
In mid-1834, Verdi sought to acquire Provesi's former post in Busseto but without success. But with Barezzi's help, he did obtain the secular post of ''maestro di musica''. He taught, gave lessons, and conducted the Philharmonic for several months before returning to Milan in early 1835.{{sfn|Parker|1998|p=933}} By the following July, he obtained his certification from Lavigna.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=67}} Eventually in 1835 Verdi became director of the Busseto school with a three-year contract. He married Margherita in May 1836, and by March 1837, she had given birth to their first child, Virginia Maria Luigia on 26 March 1837. Icilio Romano followed on 11 July 1838. Both the children died young, Virginia on 12 August 1838, Icilio on 22 October 1839.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§2}}

In 1837, the young composer asked for Massini's assistance to stage his opera in Milan.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=79–80}} The La Scala impresario, [[Bartolomeo Merelli]], agreed to put on ''[[Oberto (opera)|Oberto]]'' (as the reworked opera was now called, with a libretto rewritten by [[Temistocle Solera]]){{sfn|Kimbell|1981|pp=92, 96}} in November 1839. It achieved a respectable 13 additional performances, following which Merelli offered Verdi a contract for three more works.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=71}} In 1838-1839 Verdi published his first music with the Milan publisher [[Giovanni Canti]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=Richard Macnutt|author2= Mariapia Rosso|title= Canti, Giovanni|date=2001|entry=Canti, Giovanni|encyclopedia=Grove Music Online|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.04765}}</ref>

While Verdi was working on his second opera ''[[Un giorno di regno]]'', Margherita died of [[encephalitis]] at the age of 26. Verdi adored his wife and children and was devastated by their early deaths. ''Un giorno'', a comedy, was premiered only a few months later. It was a flop and only given one performance.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=71}} Following its failure, it is claimed Verdi vowed never to compose again,{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§3}} but in his ''Sketch'' he recounts how Merelli persuaded him to write a new opera.

Verdi was to claim that he gradually began to work on the music for ''[[Nabucco]]'', the libretto of which had originally been rejected by the composer [[Otto Nicolai]]:{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=16}} "This verse today, tomorrow that, here a note, there a whole phrase, and little by little the opera was written", he later recalled.{{sfn|Werfel|Stefan|1973|pp=87–92}} By the autumn of 1841 it was complete, originally under the title ''Nabucodonosor''. Well received at its first performance on 9 March 1842, ''Nabucco'' underpinned Verdi's success until his retirement from the theatre, twenty-nine operas (including some revised and updated versions) later.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§3}} At its revival in La Scala for the 1842 autumn season it was given an unprecedented (and later unequalled) total of 57 performances; within three years it had reached (among other venues) Vienna, Lisbon, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris and Hamburg; in 1848 it was heard in New York, in 1850 in Buenos Aires. Porter comments that "similar accounts...could be provided to show how widely and rapidly all [Verdi's] other successful operas were disseminated."{{sfn|Porter|1980|pp=638–639}}

===1842–1849===
[[File:Francesco Maria Piave - Granger.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Francesco Maria Piave]] whose work with Verdi included ''Rigoletto'' and ''La traviata'']]
A period of hard work for Verdi—with the creation of twenty operas (excluding revisions and translations)—followed over the next sixteen years, culminating in ''[[Un ballo in maschera]]''. This period was not without its frustrations and setbacks for the young composer, and he was frequently demoralised. In April 1845, in connection with ''[[I due Foscari]]'', he wrote: "I am happy, no matter what reception it gets, and I am utterly indifferent to everything. I cannot wait for these next three years to pass. I have to write six operas, then ''addio'' to everything."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=181}} In 1858 Verdi complained: "Since ''Nabucco'', you may say, I have never had one hour of peace. Sixteen years in the galleys."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=379}}

After the initial success of ''Nabucco'', Verdi settled in Milan, making a number of influential acquaintances. He attended the ''Salotto Maffei'', Countess [[Clara Maffei]]'s [[salon (gathering)|salon]]s in Milan, becoming her lifelong friend and correspondent.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§3}} A revival of ''Nabucco'' followed in 1842 at La Scala where it received a run of fifty-seven performances,{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=139}} and this led to a commission from Merelli for a new opera for the 1843 season. ''[[I Lombardi alla prima crociata]]'' was based on a libretto by Solera and premiered in February 1843. Inevitably, comparisons were made with ''Nabucco''; but one contemporary writer noted: "If [''Nabucco''] created this young man's reputation, ''I Lombardi'' served to confirm it."{{sfn|Budden|1984a|p=116}}

Verdi paid close attention to his financial contracts, making sure he was appropriately remunerated as his popularity increased. For ''I Lombardi'' and ''[[Ernani]]'' (1844) in Venice he was paid 12,000 lire (including supervision of the productions); ''[[Attila (opera)|Attila]]'' and ''[[Macbeth (Verdi)|Macbeth]]'' (1847), each brought him 18,000 lire. His contracts with the publishers [[Casa Ricordi|Ricordi]] in 1847 were very specific about the amounts he was to receive for new works, first productions, musical arrangements, and so on.{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=649}} He began to use his growing prosperity to invest in land near his birthplace. In 1844 he purchased "Il Pulgaro", 62 acres (23 hectares) of farmland with a farmhouse and outbuildings, providing a home for his parents from May 1844. Later that year, he also bought the Palazzo Cavalli (now known as the Palazzo Orlandi) on the via Roma, Busseto's main street.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=160–161}} In May 1848, Verdi signed a contract for land and houses at Sant'Agata in Busseto, which had once belonged to his family.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=45}} It was here he built his own house, completed in 1880, now known as the [[Villa Verdi]], where he lived from 1851 until his death.<ref>[http://www.villaverdi.org/pagine/en.php "Story"] on Villa Verdi website, accessed 10 June 2015.</ref>
[[File:Giuseppina Strepponi.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Giuseppina Strepponi]] ({{Circa|1845}})]]
In March 1843, Verdi visited Vienna (where [[Gaetano Donizetti]] was musical director) to oversee a production of ''Nabucco''. The older composer, recognising Verdi's talent, noted in a letter of January 1844: "I am very, very happy to give way to people of talent like Verdi... Nothing will prevent the good Verdi from soon reaching one of the most honourable positions in the cohort of composers."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=148}} Verdi travelled on to Parma, where the [[Teatro Regio di Parma]] was producing ''Nabucco'' with [[Giuseppina Strepponi]] in the cast. For Verdi, the performances were a personal triumph in his native region, especially as his father, Carlo, attended the first performance. Verdi remained in Parma for some weeks beyond his intended departure date. This fuelled speculation that the delay was due to Verdi's interest in Strepponi (who stated that their relationship began in 1843).{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=150–151}} Strepponi was in fact known for her amorous relationships (and many illegitimate children) and her history was an awkward factor in their relationship until they eventually agreed on marriage.{{sfn|Kerman|2006|p=23}}

After successful stagings of ''Nabucco'' in Venice (with twenty-five performances in the 1842/43 season), Verdi began negotiations with the impresario of [[La Fenice]] to stage ''I Lombardi'', and to write a new opera. Eventually, Victor Hugo's ''[[Hernani (drama)|Hernani]]'' was chosen, with [[Francesco Maria Piave]] as librettist. ''[[Ernani]]'' was successfully premiered in 1844 and within six months had been performed at twenty other theatres in Italy, and also in Vienna.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=52}} The writer [[Andrew Porter (music critic)|Andrew Porter]] notes that for the next ten years, Verdi's life "reads like a travel diary—a timetable of visits...to bring new operas to the stage or to supervise local premieres". La Scala premiered none of these new works, except for ''Giovanna d'Arco''. Verdi "never forgave the Milanese for their reception of ''Un giorno di regno''".{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=649}}

During this period, Verdi began to work more consistently with his librettists. He relied on Piave again for ''I due Foscari'', performed in Rome in November 1844, then on Solera once more for ''[[Giovanna d'Arco]]'', at La Scala in February 1845, while in August that year he was able to work with [[Salvadore Cammarano]] on ''[[Alzira (opera)|Alzira]]'' for the [[Teatro di San Carlo]] in Naples. Solera and Piave worked together on ''[[Attila (opera)|Attila]]'' for La Fenice (March 1846).{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§4}}
[[File:Emanuele Muzio-Verdi's pupil & assistant.jpg|upright|thumb|right|[[Emanuele Muzio]], Verdi's pupil and assistant]]
In April 1844, Verdi took on [[Emanuele Muzio]], eight years his junior, as a pupil and [[amanuensis]]. He had known him since about 1828 as another of Barezzi's protégés.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=160}} Muzio, who in fact was Verdi's only pupil, became indispensable to the composer. He reported to Barezzi that Verdi "has a breadth of spirit, of generosity, a wisdom".{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=166}} In November 1846, Muzio wrote of Verdi: "If you could see us, I seem more like a friend, rather than his pupil. We are always together at dinner, in the cafes, when we play cards...; all in all, he doesn't go anywhere without me at his side; in the house we have a big table and we both write there together, and so I always have his advice."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=192–193}} Muzio was to remain associated with Verdi, assisting in the preparation of scores and transcriptions, and later conducting many of his works in their premiere performances in the US and elsewhere outside Italy. He was chosen by Verdi as one of the executors of his will but predeceased the composer in 1890.{{sfn|Marchesi|2001}}

After a period of illness, Verdi began work on ''Macbeth'' in September 1846. He dedicated the opera to Barezzi: "I have long intended to dedicate an opera to you, as you have been a father, a benefactor and a friend for me. It was a duty I should have fulfilled sooner if imperious circumstances had not prevented me. Now, I send you ''Macbeth'', which I prize above all my other operas, and therefore deem worthier to present to you."{{sfn|Werfel|Stefan|1973|p=122}} In 1997 Martin Chusid wrote that ''Macbeth'' was the only one of Verdi's operas of his "early period" to remain regularly in the international repertoire,{{sfn|Chusid|1997|p=1}} although in the 21st century ''Nabucco'' has also entered the lists.<ref name="auto">[http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en&break=-2&show=opera&no=50&nat= Operabase website], accessed 28 June 2015.</ref>

Strepponi's voice declined and her engagements dried up in the 1845 to 1846 period, and she returned to live in Milan whilst retaining contact with Verdi as his "supporter, promoter, unofficial adviser, and occasional secretary" until she decided to move to Paris in October 1846. Before she left Verdi gave her a letter that pledged his love. On the envelope, Strepponi wrote: "5 or 6 October 1846. They shall lay this letter on my heart when they bury me."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=196}}

Verdi had completed ''[[I masnadieri]]'' for London by May 1847 except for the orchestration. This he left until the opera was in rehearsal, since he wanted to hear "la [[Jenny Lind|[Jenny] Lind]] and modify her role to suit her more exactly".{{sfn|Baldini|1980|p=132}} Verdi agreed to conduct the premiere on 22 July 1847 at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]], as well as the second performance. [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]] attended the first performance, and for the most part, the press was generous in its praise.{{sfn|Budden|1984a|pp=318–319}}

[[File:Salvadore Cammarano-2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Salvadore Cammarano]], librettist of ''Alzira'', ''La battaglia di Legnano'', and ''Luisa Miller'']]
For the next two years, except for two visits to Italy during periods of political unrest, Verdi was based in Paris.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=229–241}} Within a week of returning to Paris in July 1847, he received his first commission from the [[Académie Royale de Musique|Paris Opéra]]. Verdi agreed to adapt ''I Lombardi'' to a new French libretto; the result was ''[[Jérusalem]]'', which contained significant changes to the music and structure of the work (including an extensive ballet scene) to meet Parisian expectations.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=63}} Verdi was awarded the Order of Chevalier of the [[Legion of Honour]].{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=72}}{{efn|1=In 1880 he was upgraded to Grand Officer of the Legion, after the Paris premiere of ''Aida''.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=180}} In 1894, after the Paris premiere of ''Falstaff'', he was awarded the Grand Croix of the Legion.{{sfn|Reibel|2001|p=97}}}} To satisfy his contracts with the publisher {{Interlanguage link|Francesco Lucca|it}}, Verdi dashed off ''[[Il Corsaro]]''. Budden comments "In no other opera of his does Verdi appear to have taken so little interest ''before'' it was staged."{{sfn|Budden|1984a|p=365}}

On hearing the news of the [[Five Days of Milan|"Cinque Giornate", the "Five Days"]] of street fighting that took place between 18 and 22 March 1848 and temporarily drove the Austrians out of Milan, Verdi travelled there, arriving on 5 April.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=229}} He discovered that Piave was now "Citizen Piave" of the newly proclaimed [[Republic of San Marco]]. Writing a patriotic letter to him in Venice, Verdi concluded "Banish every petty municipal idea! We must all extend a fraternal hand, and Italy will yet become the first nation of the world...I am drunk with joy! Imagine that there are no more Germans here!!"{{sfn|Martin|1984|p=220}}

Verdi had been admonished by the poet [[Giuseppe Giusti]] for turning away from patriotic subjects, the poet pleading with him to "do what you can to nourish the [sorrow of the Italian people], to strengthen it, and direct it to its goal."{{sfn|Osborne|1969|p=189}} Cammarano suggested adapting [[Joseph Méry]]'s 1828 play ''La Bataille de Toulouse'', which he described as a story "that should stir every man with an Italian soul in his breast".{{sfn|Budden|1984a|p=390}} The premiere was set for late January 1849. Verdi travelled to Rome before the end of 1848. He found that city on the verge of becoming [[Roman Republic (19th century)|a (short-lived) republic]], which commenced within days of ''La battaglia di Legnano''{{'}}s enthusiastically received premiere. In the spirit of the time were the [[tenor]] hero's final words, "Whoever dies for the fatherland cannot be evil-minded".{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=79–80}}

Verdi had intended to return to Italy in early 1848, but was prevented by work and illness, as well as, most probably, by his increasing attachment to Strepponi. Verdi and Strepponi left Paris in July 1849, the immediate cause being an outbreak of [[cholera]],{{sfn|Walker|1962|p=194}} and Verdi went directly to Busseto to continue work on completing his latest opera, ''[[Luisa Miller]]'', for a production in Naples later in the year.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=89}}

===1849–1853: Fame===
[[File:Villa Verdi at Sant'Agata-1859-65.jpg|thumb|Villa Verdi at Sant'Agata, as it looked between 1859 and 1865]]Verdi was committed to the publisher [[Giovanni Ricordi]] for an opera—which became ''[[Stiffelio]]''—for Trieste in the Spring of 1850; and, subsequently, following negotiations with La Fenice, developed a libretto with Piave and wrote the music for ''[[Rigoletto]]'' (based on [[Victor Hugo]]'s ''[[Le roi s'amuse]]'') for Venice in March 1851. This was the first of a sequence of three operas (followed by ''[[Il trovatore]]'' and ''[[La traviata]]'') which were to cement his fame as a master of opera.{{sfn|Newark|2004|p=198}}

The failure of ''Stiffelio'' (attributable not least to the censors of the time taking offence at the taboo subject of the supposed adultery of a clergyman's wife and interfering with the text and roles) incited Verdi to take pains to rework it, although even in the completely recycled version of ''[[Aroldo]]'' (1857) it still failed to please.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=90–91}} ''Rigoletto'', with its intended murder of royalty, and its sordid attributes, also upset the censors. Verdi would not compromise: <blockquote>What does the sack matter to the police? Are they worried about the effect it will produce?...Do they think they know better than I?...I see the hero has been made no longer ugly and hunchbacked!! Why? A singing hunchback...why not?...I think it splendid to show this character as outwardly deformed and ridiculous, and inwardly passionate and full of love. I chose the subject for these very qualities...if they are removed I can no longer set it to music.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=92–93}}
</blockquote>

{{Listen|image=none|help=no|type=music|filename=La Donna E Mobile Rigoletto.ogg|title="La donna è mobile"|description=[[Enrico Caruso]] performs "La donna e mobile" from Rigoletto}}Verdi substituted a Duke for the King, and the public response and subsequent success of the opera all over Italy and Europe fully vindicated the composer.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=101}} Aware that the melody of the Duke's song "[[La donna è mobile]]" ("Woman is fickle") would become a popular hit, Verdi excluded it from orchestral rehearsals for the opera, and rehearsed the tenor separately.{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|p=585}}{{efn|1=[[Richard Taruskin|Taruskin]] comments: "Its eventual success was almost ''too'' great, since many...ascribe...to [the opera] or even to Verdi the song's trivial gaiety without realizing that its brashness was a calculated ironic foil."{{sfn|Taruskin|2010|p=586}}}}
[[File:Karoly Gyurkovich - Giuseppina Strepponi.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Giuseppina Strepponi, c. 1850s]]
For several months Verdi was preoccupied with family matters. These stemmed from the way in which the citizens of Busseto were treating Giuseppina Strepponi, with whom he was living openly in an unmarried relationship. She was shunned in the town and at church, and while Verdi appeared indifferent, she was certainly not.{{sfn|Walker|1962|pp=197–198}} Furthermore, Verdi was concerned about the administration of his newly acquired property at Sant'Agata.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=287}} A growing estrangement between Verdi and his parents was perhaps also attributable to Strepponi{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=290}} (the suggestion that this situation was sparked by the birth of a child to Verdi and Strepponi which was given away as a foundling{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=289–}} lacks any firm evidence). In January 1851, Verdi broke off relations with his parents, and in April they were ordered to leave Sant'Agata; Verdi found new premises for them and helped them financially to settle into their new home. It may not be coincidental that all six Verdi operas written in the period 1849–1853 (''La battaglia, Luisa Miller, Stiffelio, Rigoletto, Il trovatore'' and ''La traviata''), have, uniquely in his oeuvre, heroines who are, in the opera critic Joseph Kerman's words, "women who come to grief because of sexual transgression, actual or perceived". Kerman, like the psychologist Gerald Mendelssohn, sees this choice of subjects as being influenced by Verdi's uneasy passion for Strepponi.{{sfn|Kerman|2006|pp=22–23}}

Verdi and Strepponi moved into Sant'Agata on 1 May 1851.{{sfn|Walker|1962|p=199}} May also brought an offer for a new opera from La Fenice, which Verdi eventually realised as ''La traviata''. That was followed by an agreement with the Rome Opera Company to present ''Il trovatore'' for January 1853.{{sfn|Budden|1984b|p=63}} Verdi now had sufficient earnings to retire, had he wished to.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=54}} He had reached a stage where he could develop his operas as he wished, rather than be dependent on commissions from third parties. ''Il trovatore'' was in fact the first opera he wrote without a specific commission (apart from ''Oberto'').{{sfn|Chusid|1997|p=3}} At around the same time he began to consider creating an opera from Shakespeare's ''[[King Lear]]''. After first (1850) seeking a libretto from Cammarano (which never appeared), Verdi later (1857) commissioned one from [[Antonio Somma]], but this proved intractable, and no music was ever written.{{sfn|Budden|1993|pp=70–71}}{{efn|1=After ''Falstaff'', Boito commented to Verdi "Now, maestro, we must set to work on ''King Lear''" (for which Boito had prepared a draft), but Giuseppina was horrified at this prospect: "For heaven's sake, Boito, Verdi is too old, too tired"{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=138}} In 1896, Verdi offered his Lear materials to [[Pietro Mascagni]] who asked "Maestro, why didn't you put it into music?" According to Mascagni, "softly and slowly he replied, 'the scene in which King Lear finds himself on the heath scared me'".{{sfn|Mendelsohn|1979|p=223}}}} Verdi began work on ''Il trovatore'' after the death of his mother in June 1851. The fact that this is "the one opera of Verdi's which focuses on a mother rather than a father" is perhaps related to her death.{{sfn|Mendelsohn|1979|p=226}}

In the winter of 1851–52, Verdi decided to go to Paris with Strepponi, where he concluded an agreement with the Opéra to write what became ''[[Les vêpres siciliennes]]'', his first original work in the style of [[grand opera]]. In February 1852, the couple attended a performance of [[Alexandre Dumas, fils|Alexander Dumas]] ''fils''{{'}}s play ''[[The Lady of the Camellias]]''; Verdi immediately began to compose music for what would later become ''La traviata''.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=303}}

After his visit to Rome for ''Il trovatore'' in January 1853, Verdi worked on completing ''La traviata'', but with little hope of its success, due to his lack of confidence in any of the singers engaged for the season.{{sfn|Walker|1962|p=212}} Furthermore, the management insisted that the opera be given a historical, not a contemporary setting. The premiere in March 1853 was indeed a failure: Verdi wrote: "Was the fault mine or the singers'? Time will tell."{{sfn|Budden|1993|pp=62–63}} Subsequent productions (following some rewriting) throughout Europe over the following two years fully vindicated the composer; Roger Parker has written "''Il trovatore'' consistently remains one of the three or four most popular operas in the Verdian repertoire: but it has never pleased the critics".{{sfn|Parker|1982|p=155}}

===1853–1860: Consolidation===
In the eleven years up to and including ''Traviata'', Verdi had written sixteen operas. Over the next eighteen years (up to ''Aida''), he wrote only six new works for the stage.{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§5}} Verdi was happy to return to Sant'Agata and, in February 1856, was reporting a "total abandonment of music; a little reading; some light occupation with agriculture and horses; that's all". A couple of months later, writing in the same vein to Countess Maffei he stated: "I'm not doing anything. I don't read. I don't write. I walk in the fields from morning to evening, trying to recover, so far without success, from the stomach trouble caused me by ''I vespri siciliani''. Cursed operas!"{{sfn|Walker|1962|p=218}} An 1858 letter by Strepponi to the publisher [[Léon Escudier]] describes the kind of lifestyle that increasingly appealed to the composer: "His love for the country has become a mania, madness, rage, and fury—anything you like that is exaggerated. He gets up almost with the dawn, to go and examine the wheat, the maize, the vines, etc....Fortunately our tastes for this sort of life coincide, except in the matter of sunrise, which he likes to see up and dressed, and I from my bed."{{sfn|Walker|1962|p=219}}

[[File:Verdi and Naples censor-caricature by Delfico.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Verdi confronting the Naples censor when preparing ''Un ballo in maschera'' (caricature by [[Melchiorre Delfico (caricaturist)|Delfico)]]]]Nonetheless, on 15 May, Verdi signed a contract with La Fenice for an opera for the following spring. This was to be ''[[Simon Boccanegra]]''. The couple stayed in Paris until January 1857 to deal with these proposals, and also the offer to stage the translated version of ''Il trovatore'' as a grand opera. Verdi and Strepponi travelled to Venice in March for the premiere of ''Simon Boccanegra'', which turned out to be "a fiasco" (as Verdi reported, although on the second and third nights, the reception improved considerably).{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=355}}

With Strepponi, Verdi went to Naples early in January 1858 to work with Somma on the libretto of the opera ''Gustave III'', which over a year later would become ''[[Un ballo in maschera]]''. By this time, Verdi had begun to write about Strepponi as "my wife" and she was signing her letters as "Giuseppina Verdi".{{sfn|Walker|1962|p=219}} Verdi raged against the stringent requirements of the Neapolitan censor stating: "I'm drowning in a sea of troubles. It's almost certain that the censors will forbid our libretto."{{sfn|Werfel|Stefan|1973|p=207}} With no hope of seeing his ''Gustavo III'' staged as written, he broke his contract. This resulted in litigation and counter-litigation; with the legal issues resolved, Verdi was free to present the libretto and musical outline of ''Gustave III'' to the [[Teatro dell'Opera di Roma|Rome Opera]]. There, the censors demanded further changes; at this point, the opera took the title ''Un ballo in maschera''.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=116–117}}

Arriving in Sant'Agata in March 1859 Verdi and Strepponi found the nearby city of [[Piacenza]] occupied by about 6,000 Austrian troops who had made it their base, to combat the rise of Italian interest in unification in the Piedmont region. In the ensuing [[Second Italian War of Independence]] the Austrians abandoned the region and began to leave Lombardy, although they remained in control of the Venice region under the terms of the armistice signed at [[Villafranca di Verona|Villafranca]]. Verdi was disgusted at this outcome: "[W]here then is the independence of Italy, so long hoped for and promised?...Venice is not Italian? After so many victories, what an outcome... It is enough to drive one mad" he wrote to Clara Maffei.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=394}}

Verdi and Strepponi now decided on marriage; they travelled to [[Collonges-sous-Salève]], a village then part of Piedmont. On 29 August 1859, the couple were married there, with only the coachman who had driven them there and the church bell ringer as witnesses.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=70}} At the end of 1859, Verdi wrote to his friend [[Cesare De Sanctis (businessman)|Cesare De Sanctis]] "[Since completing ''Ballo''] I have not made any more music, I have not seen any more music, I have not thought anymore about music. I don't even know what colour my last opera is, and I almost don't remember it."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=405}} He began to remodel Sant'Agata, which took most of 1860 to complete and on which he continued to work for the next twenty years. This included major work on a square room that became his workroom, his bedroom, and his office.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=412–415}}
{{Clear}}

===Politics===
[[File:V E R D I.jpg|thumb|Painting "Viva Verdi" slogans]]

Having achieved some fame and prosperity, Verdi began in 1859 to take an active interest in Italian politics. His early commitment to the [[Risorgimento]] movement is difficult to estimate accurately; in the words of the music historian [[Philip Gossett]] "myths intensifying and exaggerating [such] sentiment began circulating" during the nineteenth century.{{sfn|Gossett|2012|pp=272, 274}} An example is the claim that when the "[[Va, pensiero]]" chorus in ''Nabucco'' was first sung in Milan, the audience, responding with nationalistic fervour, demanded an encore. As encores were expressly forbidden by the government at the time, such a gesture would have been extremely significant. But in fact the piece encored was not "Va, pensiero" but the hymn "Immenso Jehova".{{sfn|Gossett|2012|pp=272, 275–276}}{{efn|1=Although the story of the encore of "Va pensiero" has been demonstrated to be untrue, research indicates that the chorus did indeed have a resonance for supporters of the Risorgimento,{{sfn|Gossett|2005|}}<ref>[http://ebooks.cambridge.org/chapter.jsf?bid=CBO9780511481734&cid=CBO9780511481734A025&tabName=Chapter&imageExtract= Author's summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305070012/http://ebooks.cambridge.org/chapter.jsf?bid=CBO9780511481734&cid=CBO9780511481734A025&tabName=Chapter&imageExtract= |date=5 March 2016 }} of Gossett (2005), accessed 18 July 2015.</ref> and beyond: as recently as 2009 it was proposed to adopt the chorus as Italy's [[national anthem]].<ref>Anna Momigliano, [http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2009/0824/senator-wants-to-change-italys-national-anthem-to-opera "Senator wants to change Italy's national anthem – to opera"], ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'', 24 August 2009, accessed 18 July 2015</ref>}}

The growth of the "identification of Verdi's music with Italian nationalist politics" perhaps began in the 1840s.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=188–191}} In 1848, the nationalist leader [[Giuseppe Mazzini]] (whom Verdi had met in London the previous year) requested Verdi (who complied) to write a patriotic hymn.{{sfn|Gossett|2012|pp=279–280}} The opera historian [[Charles Osborne (music writer)|Charles Osborne]] describes the 1849 [[La battaglia di Legnano|''La battaglia di Legnano'']] as "an opera with a purpose" and maintains that "while parts of Verdi's earlier operas had frequently been taken up by the fighters of the Risorgimento...this time the composer had given the movement its own opera".{{sfn|Osborne|1969|p=198}} It was not until 1859 in Naples, and only then spreading throughout Italy, that the slogan "Viva Verdi" was used as an acronym for '''''Viva V'''ittorio '''E'''manuele '''R'''e '''D'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>'''I'''talia'' ("Long live [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel]], King of Italy"), in reference to the then king of [[Sardinia]] and future king of Italy.{{sfn|Budden|1984c|p=80}} After Italy was unified in 1861, many of Verdi's early operas were increasingly re-interpreted as [[Italian unification|Risorgimento]] works with hidden revolutionary messages that perhaps had not been originally intended by either the composer or his librettists.{{sfn|Gossett|2012|p=272}}

In 1859, Verdi was elected as a member of the new provincial council, and was appointed to head a group of five who would meet with King Vittorio Emanuele II in Turin. They were enthusiastically greeted along the way and in Turin Verdi himself received much of the publicity. On 17 October Verdi met with [[Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour|Cavour]], the architect of the initial stages of Italian unification.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=400–402}} Later that year the government of Emilia was subsumed under the [[United Provinces of Central Italy]], and Verdi's political life temporarily came to an end. Whilst still maintaining nationalist feelings, he declined in 1860 the office of provincial council member to which he had been elected ''in absentia''.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|p=417}} Cavour however was anxious to convince a man of Verdi's stature that running for political office was essential to strengthening and securing Italy's future.{{sfn|Gossett|2012|p=281}} The composer confided to Piave some years later that "I accepted on the condition that after a few months I would resign."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=429–430}} Verdi was elected on 3 February 1861 for the town of Borgo San Donnino ([[Fidenza]]) to the Parliament of [[Piedmont-Sardinia]] in Turin (which from March 1861 became the Parliament of the [[Kingdom of Italy]]), but following the death of Cavour in 1861, which deeply distressed him, he scarcely attended.{{sfn|Gossett|2012|p=282}} Later, in 1874, Verdi was appointed a member of the [[Senate of the Kingdom of Italy|Italian Senate]], but did not participate in its activities.{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=653}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Senato del Regno|issue=340|newspaper=[[La Stampa|Gazzetta Piemontese]]|date=10 December 1874|language=it}} (Article stating the Italian Senate voted to approve Verdi's nomination on 8 November 1874)</ref>

===1860–1887: from ''La forza'' to ''Otello''===
[[File:Verdi Russia 1861-62.jpg|thumb|upright|Verdi in Russia, 1861–1862]]
In the months following the staging of ''Ballo'', Verdi was approached by several opera companies seeking a new work or making offers to stage one of his existing ones but refused them all.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=439–446}} But when, in December 1860, an approach was made from [[Saint Petersburg]]'s [[Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre|Imperial Theatre]], the offer of 60,000 francs plus all expenses was doubtless a strong incentive. Verdi came up with the idea of adapting the 1835 Spanish play ''Don Alvaro o la fuerza del sino'' by [[Angel Saavedra]], which became ''[[La forza del destino]]'', with Piave writing the libretto. The Verdis arrived in Saint Petersburg in December 1861 for the premiere, but casting problems meant that it had to be postponed.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=124}}

Returning via Paris from Russia on 24 February 1862, Verdi met two young Italian writers, the twenty-year-old [[Arrigo Boito]] and [[Franco Faccio]]. Verdi had been invited to write a piece of music for the [[1862 International Exhibition]] in London,{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=446–449}} and charged Boito with writing a text, which became the ''[[Inno delle nazioni]]''. Boito, as a supporter of the grand opera of [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]] and an opera composer in his own right, was later in the 1860s critical of Verdi's "reliance on formula rather than form", incurring the composer's wrath. Nevertheless, he was to become Verdi's close collaborator in his final operas.{{sfn|Parker|2007|pp=3–4}} The Saint Petersburg premiere of ''La forza'' finally took place in September 1862, and Verdi received the [[Order of Saint Stanislaus (Imperial House of Romanov)|Order of St. Stanislaus]].{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=88}}

{{Listen|image=none|help=no|type=music|filename=Triumphal March from Aida.ogg|title=''Grand March'' from Aida|description=The Grand March from the Act 2 of Aida}}A revival of ''Macbeth'' in Paris in 1865 was not a success, but he obtained a commission for a new work, ''[[Don Carlos]]'', based on the play [[Don Carlos (play)|''Don Carlos'']] by [[Friedrich Schiller]]. He and Giuseppina spent late 1866 and much of 1867 in Paris, where they heard, and did not warm to, Giacomo Meyerbeer's last opera, ''[[L'Africaine]]'', and [[Richard Wagner]]'s overture to ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]''.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=93}} The opera's premiere in 1867 drew mixed comments. While the critic [[Théophile Gautier]] praised the work, the composer [[Georges Bizet]] was disappointed at Verdi's changing style: "Verdi is no longer Italian. He is following Wagner."{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=93}}

During the 1860s and 1870s, Verdi paid great attention to his estate around Busseto, purchasing additional land, dealing with unsatisfactory (in one case, embezzling) stewards, installing [[irrigation]], and coping with variable harvests and economic slumps.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=128–131}} In 1867, both Verdi's father Carlo, with whom he had restored good relations, and his early patron and father-in-law Antonio Barezzi, died. Verdi and Giuseppina decided to adopt Carlo's great-niece Filomena Maria Verdi, then seven years old, as their own child. She was to marry in 1878 the son of Verdi's friend and lawyer Angelo Carrara and her family became eventually the heirs of Verdi's estate.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=131, 133}}
[[File:Teresa Stolz Aida 1872.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Teresa Stolz]] as ''Aida'' in the 1872 Parma production]]
''[[Aida]]'' was commissioned by the Egyptian government for the [[Khedivial Opera House|opera house]] built by the [[Khedive]] [[Isma'il Pasha]] to celebrate the opening of the [[Suez Canal]] in 1869. The opera house actually opened with a production of ''Rigoletto''. The prose libretto in French by [[Camille du Locle]], based on a scenario by the Egyptologist [[Auguste Mariette]], was transformed into Italian verse by [[Antonio Ghislanzoni]].{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=655}} Verdi was offered the enormous sum of 150,000 [[franc]]s for the opera (even though he confessed that [[Ancient Egypt]] was "a civilization I have never been able to admire"), and it was first performed in Cairo in 1871.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=149–150}} Verdi spent much of 1872 and 1873 supervising the Italian productions of ''Aida'' at Milan, Parma and Naples, effectively acting as producer and demanding high standards and adequate rehearsal time.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=158–159}} During the rehearsals for the Naples production he wrote his [[String Quartet (Verdi)|String Quartet]], the only chamber music by him to survive, and the only major work in the form by an Italian of the 19th century.{{sfn|Stowell|2003|p=259}}

In 1869, Verdi had been asked to compose a section for a [[Music for the requiem Mass| Requiem]] mass in memory of Rossini. He compiled and completed the requiem, but its performance was abandoned (and its premiere did not take place until 1988).{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=138–139}} Five years later, Verdi reworked his "Libera Me" section of the [[Messa per Rossini| Rossini Requiem]] and made it a part of his [[Requiem (Verdi)| Requiem]] honouring [[Alessandro Manzoni]], who had died in 1873. The complete Requiem was first performed at the cathedral in Milan on the anniversary of Manzoni's death on 22 May 1874.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=138–139}} The ''[[spinto]]'' soprano [[Teresa Stolz]], who had sung in La Scala productions from 1865 onwards, was the soloist in the first and many later performances of the Requiem; in February 1872, she had created Aida in its European premiere in Milan. She became closely associated personally with Verdi (exactly how closely remains conjectural), to Giuseppina Verdi's initial disquiet; but the women were reconciled and Stolz remained a companion of Verdi after Giuseppina's death in 1897 until his own death.{{sfn|Christiansen|1995|pp=202–203}}

Verdi conducted his Requiem in Paris, London and Vienna in 1875 and in Cologne in 1876.{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=653}} It seemed that it would be his last work. In the words of his biographer [[John Rosselli (historian)|John Rosselli]], it "confirmed him as the unique presiding genius of Italian music. No fellow composer...came near him in popularity or reputation". Verdi, now in his sixties, initially seemed to withdraw into retirement. He deliberately shied away from opportunities to publicise himself or to become involved with new productions of his works,{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=163–165}} but secretly he began work on ''[[Otello]]'', which Boito (to whom the composer had been reconciled by Ricordi) had proposed to him privately in 1879. The composition was delayed by a revision of ''Simon Boccanegra'' which Verdi undertook with Boito, produced in 1881, and a revision of ''Don Carlos''. Even when ''Otello'' was virtually completed, Verdi teased "Shall I finish it? Shall I have it performed? Hard to tell, even for me." As news leaked out, Verdi was pressed by opera houses across Europe with enquiries; eventually the opera was triumphantly premiered at La Scala in February 1887.{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|pp=164–172}}

===1887–1901: ''Falstaff'' and last years===
[[File:Boito e Verdi.jpg|thumb|right|[[Arrigo Boito]] and Verdi at Sant'Agata in 1893]]
Following the success of ''Otello'' Verdi commented, "After having relentlessly massacred so many heroes and heroines, I have at last the right to laugh a little." He had considered a variety of comic subjects but had found none of them wholly suitable and confided his ambition to Boito. The librettist said nothing at the time but secretly began work on a libretto based on ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'' with additional material taken from ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]'' and ''[[Henry IV, Part 2|Part 2]]''.{{sfn|Klein|1926|p=606}} Verdi received the draft libretto probably in early July 1889 after he had just read Shakespeare's play: "Benissimo! Benissimo!... No one could have done better than you", he wrote back to Boito. But he still had doubts: his age, his health (which he admits to being good) and his ability to complete the project: "If I were not to finish the music?". If the project failed, it would have been a waste of Boito's time, and have distracted him from completing his own new opera. Finally, on 10 July 1889, he wrote again: "So be it! So let's do ''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]''! For now, let's not think of obstacles, of age, of illnesses!" Verdi emphasised the need for secrecy but continued "If you are in the mood, then start to write."{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|1993|pp=700–701}} Later he wrote to Boito: "What joy to be able to say to the public: HERE WE ARE AGAIN!!! COME AND SEE US!"{{sfn|Mendelsohn|1978|p=122}}{{efn|1=The capitalization and exclamation marks are Verdi's own.}}

[[File:Maria Carrara Verdi, Barberina Strepponi, Giuseppe Verdi, Giuditta Ricordi, Teresa Stolz, Umberto Campanari, Giulio Ricordi, Leopoldo Metlicovitz (1900) - Archivio storico Ricordi FOTO003107 - Restoration.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Group portrait at Sant'Agata in 1900 with various family and friends. His companion [[Teresa Stolz]] is standing at the left, [[Giulio Ricordi]] is standing second from the right, with his wife seated below him. Verdi is in the middle, and his adopted daughter, Maria Carrara Verdi, is seated at the far left.]]
The first performance of ''Falstaff'' took place at La Scala on 9 February 1893. For the first night, official ticket prices were thirty times higher than usual. Royalty, aristocracy, critics and leading figures from the arts all over Europe were present. The performance was a huge success; numbers were encored, and at the end, the applause for Verdi and the cast lasted an hour. That was followed by a tumultuous welcome when the composer, his wife and Boito arrived at the [[Grand Hotel et de Milan|Grand Hotel de Milan]].{{sfn|Hepokoski|1983|pp=55–56}} Even more hectic scenes ensued when he went to Rome in May for the opera's premiere at the [[Teatro Costanzi]]; crowds of well-wishers at the railway station initially forced Verdi to take refuge in a tool-shed. He witnessed the performance from the Royal Box at the side of [[Umberto I of Italy|King Umberto]] and [[Queen Margherita]].{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=137}}

In his last years, Verdi undertook a number of philanthropic ventures, publishing in 1894 a song for the benefit of earthquake victims in [[Sicily]], and from 1895 onwards planning, building and endowing a rest-home for retired musicians in Milan, the [[Casa di Riposo per Musicisti]], and building a hospital at [[Villanova sull'Arda]], close to Busseto.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=140}}{{sfn|Parker|2001|loc=§8}} His last major composition, the choral set of ''[[Quattro pezzi sacri|Four sacred pieces]]'', was published in 1898. In 1900 he was deeply upset at the assassination of [[Umberto I of Italy|King Umberto]] and sketched a setting of a poem in his memory, but was unable to complete it.{{sfn|Budden|1993|pp=143–144}}

While staying at the Grand Hotel, Verdi suffered a stroke on 21 January 1901.{{efn|1=[http://www.grandhoteletdemilan.it/themes/emotion/eng/index.php The hotel's website] (accessed 14 June 2015) contains a brief history of the composer's stay.}} He gradually grew more feeble over the next week, during which Stolz cared for him, and died on 27 January at the age of 87.{{sfn|Budden|1993|p=146}}{{sfn|Rosselli|2000|p=186}}

[[File:Verdi tomba.JPG|thumb|Verdi's grave at the Casa di Riposo, Milan]]
Verdi was initially buried in a private ceremony at Milan's [[Cimitero Monumentale]].{{sfn|Porter|1980|p=659}} A month later, his body was moved to the crypt of the Casa di Riposo. On this occasion, "Va, pensiero" from ''Nabucco'' was conducted by [[Arturo Toscanini]] with a chorus of 820 singers. A huge crowd was in attendance, estimated at 300,000.{{sfn|Phillips-Matz|2004|p=14}} Boito wrote to a friend, in words which recall the mysterious final scene of ''Don Carlos'', "[Verdi] sleeps like a King of Spain in his [[El Escorial|Escurial]], under a bronze slab that completely covers him."{{sfn|Walker|1962|p=509}}