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Despite various government announcments expected in April and May, still much uncertainty surrounds overseas travel. You've all heard [and been made aware of] the threats and potential pitfalls. All we can say is that we are watching events, carefully, both home and [more particularly] abroad. We shall not be hastening to make travel bookings unril it is safe to do so: probably much later in the year. We hope you have received - or are about to receive - your vax! Stay safe and well.
More >In early March, the Lyric Opera of Chicago made the heartbreaking decision to cancel the first new Ring Cycle in North America for 12 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, with this extraordinary project almost a decade in the making, the company wanted to share some unique glimpses of this monumental work through videos, interviews, and program articles, while we all wait patiently for better days and a rescheduled season. The planning, design and production of all four operas are explored
More >We challenge you to not to smile at this delightful performance of an Italian favourite!
More >A giant in the world of opera, one of a tiny group of composers who set the supreme standard by which the art of opera is judged. Just consider. Of his 28 operas about a dozen form the backbone of the standard operatic repertoire.
Born in a village in the rural depths of what is now the province of Parma, Verdi received his earliest musical education from church organists in Roncole & Busseto.
He married in 1938, aged 25, and moved to Milan where, in 1839, he completed his first opera, Oberto.
Early personal tragedies followed: his first child, daughter Virginia died in infancy, their second child also. His wife Margherita died in 1840 aged 26.
Devastated and dispirited by these personal losses Verdi found solace in his work and through the 1840s and the 1850s,'60s and '70s he composed Nabucco, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, Don Carlos, and Aida, amongst others.
Of course, more great works followed right through until old age [Messsa da Requiem, Otello, Falstaff].
Verdi died on 27 Janaury 1901 in Milano.
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