2.  Born at Le Roncole, near Parma in 1813  Died of a stroke at Milan in 1901  Italian composer. His world recognition is due mainly to his operas  His parents were landowners and innkeepers.  Known as 'the swan from Busseto'.

3. He studied composition privately with Ferdinando Provesi in Busseto. At age 20 he moved to Milan to continue his studies, but the Conservatory of Music rejected him. Verdi took private lessons and associated with Milan's cultural milieu in his pursuit of a musical career. He was patronized by Antonio Barezzi, a merchant, whose daughter, Margherita, was Verdi's student and later became his wife.

4. Verdi's musical success coincided with the political events of Italian unification during the Austrian occupation. Many of his opera performances were used by the supporters. From 1861-1865 he was elected representative of Busseto in the newly formed Italian parliament.

5. The music of Verdi served the audience of the mass public rather than that of the musical elite. He uses duets, trios and quartets along with significant and memorable passages for chorus.

6. Aida http://youtu.be/AssDQbaIP_I La Traviata http://youtu.be/s8zE-WNA6os Rigoletto http://youtu.be/8A3zetSuYRg Nabucco http://youtu.be/y0EAL3vXZrM

7. Born at 8:00pm-LMT Wrote his earlier operas in a style now known as "bel canto" or "beautiful singing"; beginning with Otello, wrote in a more dramatic style. Was idolized by conductor Arturo Toscanini. Italian composer. His world recognition is due mainly to his operas. Among these, the best known are: "Rigoletto", "Il Trovatore", "La Traviata", "La Forza del Destino", "Aida", "Otello" and "Falstaff". "Otello" and "Falstaff" are considered by most critics to be the finest operas ever adapted from Shakespeare. Verdi wrote "Falstaff" when he was eighty, in 1893. The tenor aria "La donna e mobile", from "Rigoletto", is one of the most famous arias ever written for an opera, and is familiar even to people who never listen to opera.

8. http://www.8notes.com /biographies/verdi.asp# Verdi.27s_Nationalism http://www.8notes.com /biographies/verdi.asp# Verdi.27s_Nationalism http://www.imdb.com/ name/nm0006333/bio http://www.imdb.com/ name/nm0006333/bio http://www.pbs.org/wn et/gperf/education/ver di.html http://www.pbs.org/wn et/gperf/education/ver di.html