Verdi’s Requiem

Verdi’s Requiem: one of the most dramatic, and undoubtedly the most operatic, of its type ever composed.  Any performance of the Verdi Requiem is always a grand occasion. So to get you in the spirit, here’s a quick guide to this unique work…

How did Verdi come to write his Requiem?

Initially, it was the death of Rossini in November 1868. Verdi and several other Italian composers wanted to mark the event by joining forces in writing a collaborative Requiem for the great man – Verdi wrote the Libera Me movement. The resulting work was not a success, though, and was soon abandoned.

And then…?

In 1873, Verdi was moved by the death of Alessandro Manzoni to write a complete Requiem by himself. For it, he retained the ‘Libera Me’ from the collaborative effort of five years earlier. His new work was first performed in Milan in May 1874 and soon enjoyed further performances across Europe.

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