The year 2013 will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), and over four sessions we will survey his vast output of operas. The first lecture will provide an overview of Verdi’s life and career. We will also consider his most important predecessors (Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti) and the relationship of their music to his as seen in his earliest operas. Subsequent classes will continue the chronological survey, with in-depth examination of selected scenes using video clips and recordings. Finally, we will focus on Verdi’s last operas, Otello and Falstaff, delving deeply into the music as well as the intimate relationship these works have with their Shakespearean sources.
