This year (and probably part of next year), I’m listening to the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. I’ve heard some of his operas and have seen Macbeth and Simon Boccanegra. But I’ve been curious about his several others. So, I decided to purchase the 2013 75-CD set of Verdi’s operas (and additional music), and then listen in order. For reference I’ll study Charles Osborne, The Complete Operas of Verdi (New York: Knopf, 1979).
The composer famously referred to his “years in the galley": the several years where he wrote 13 operas between “Nabucco” in 1842 and “Rigoletto” in 1851. He probably referred to the labor-intensive work of a galley slave on a ship. From what I’ve read, Alzira and Attila are considered among Verdi’s lesser operas. I did enjoy listening to them, although recognizing that they aren’t nearly as memorable as his grater works.
This recording of Alzira is conducted by Fabio Luisa, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Choeur du Grand Theatre de Geneve. The opera premiered at Teatro San Carlo in Naples August 12, 1845
The story concerns the Incas of Peru and the Spanish government. It is based on Voltaire’s play Alzire. Charles Osborne questions whether Voltaire would’ve meant to uphold Christian morals compared to those of the Incas. Osborne wonders why the agnostic Verdi was attracted to the story. But he thinks the opera—one of Verdi’s least successful—is still enjoyable.
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