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    Verdi for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities
    Verdi for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities
    Verdi for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities
    Ebook281 pages2 hours

    Verdi for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities

    By Helen Bauer and Deborah Voigt

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    About this ebook

    Giuseppe Verdi dominated Italian opera for 50 years, and his operas are performed throughout the world today. Verdi for Kids offers young readers an accessible, behind-the-scenes peek into the exciting world of opera and traces Verdi's path to fame, delving into the great composer's childhood, musical training, family tragedies, and professional setbacks and successes. Kids also learn about the Italians' passion for opera and Italy's tumultuous past, key political figures, and cultural pastimes. Aspiring sopranos, baritones, musicians, conductors, and stage directors will learn about opera jobs and production, what happens at rehearsal, and music terms and vocabulary, gaining an understanding of opera's rich tradition.

    Offering a time line, glossary, and list of additional resources, Verdi for Kids is an engaging resource for students, parents, and teachers. Fun hands-on activities illuminate both the music concepts introduced and the times in which Verdi lived.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChicago Review Press
    Release dateApr 1, 2013
    ISBN9781613745038
    Verdi for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities

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    • 5/5
      If you're a music teacher, a student or Opera buff, you'll appreciate this great music resource immensely. The biographical information is well-written and truly the book is a labor of love. Many of us know that Verdi wrote opera, choral and chamber compositions, plus songs that tell a story. We've listened to his famous works of Requiem, La Traviata, Aida and Otello. But who was Giuseppe Verdi that 200,000 people came to his service? I had to know. The study of great music and the life of Verdi will not disappoint. Learn of Verdi's personal loss and grief that motivates and compels him to write more successful works. As you discover Verdi's constant desire to monitor the political scene, the reader comes to know the composer's love to unite his country Italy, and the charities he created from his concern for others less fortunate.As a piano teacher and grandmother of 5, I especially like that the book is for ages 9 and up. 10 activities are provided all through the book, like making homemade pasta, playing bocce ball, creating pizza party invitations, costume designing and planting a tomato sauce garden. Not only is this a fun book for singing like a Diva but learning about Leitmotif and the kiss motif, too. It's a wonderful and valuable music resource with beautiful illustrations, offering a timeline, glossary and list of additional resources with end notes.5/5 stars. Bravo! Highly recommend.

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    Verdi for Kids - Helen Bauer

    Half Title of Verdi for KidsBook Title of Verdi for Kids

    Copyright © 2013 by Helen Bauer

    All rights reserved

    Foreword copyright © 2013 by Deborah Voigt

    All rights reserved

    First edition

    Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated

    814 North Franklin Street

    Chicago, Illinois 60610

    ISBN 978-1-61374-500-7

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Bauer, Helen, 1943-

    Verdi for kids : his life and music with 21 activities/Helen Bauer ; foreword by Deborah Voigt. — First edition

    p. cm.

    Includes bibliographical references and index.

    ISBN 978-1-61374-500-7 (pbk.)

    1. Verdi, Giuseppe, 1813-1901—Juvenile literature. 2. Composers—Italy— Biography—Juvenile literature. I. Title.

    ML3930.V4B38 2013

    782.i092—dc23

    [B]

    2012042742

    Cover and interior design: Monica Baziuk

    Front cover images: Verdi, Leemage/Getty; Il Trovatore poster, Library of Congress; Theater, gmalandra/iStockphoto; Giuseppina Strepponi, Lebrecht Music and Arts/Photographers Direct.

    Back cover images: Piano, Library of Congress; Carnival mask, Thomas M.

    Perkins/Shutterstock; La Scala, Federico Rostagno/Shutterstock.

    Interior illustrations: Jim Spence

    Printed in the United States of America

    5 4 3 2 1

    To Arona:

    Continue to be the admirable person you are today. May you always be successful and joyful in all that you are and do.

    CONTENTS

    FOREWORD BY DEBORAH VOIGT

    NOTE TO READERS

    TIME LINE

    INTRODUCTION

    Italian Opera—A History of Splendor and Beauty

    inline-image 1 inline-image

    A QUIET CHILD

    1813-1831

    Play Hoop Rolling

    Make Your Own Pasta

    Compose Rap Counterpoint

    inline-image 2 inline-image

    TURNING DISAPPOINTMENT INTO SUCCESS

    1832-1840

    Perceptively Listen to a Composition

    Make a Stained Glass Window

    Solve an Opera Word Search

    Build a Water Purifier

    inline-image 3 inline-image

    A NEW BEGINNING

    1841-1846

    Learn to Read Music

    Design a CD Cover for Nabucco

    Make a Clay Map of Italy

    inline-image 4 inline-image

    CRIES FOR LIBERTY

    1847-1853

    Sing Like a Diva

    Make a Panpipe

    inline-image 5 inline-image

    A LOVE STORY

    1853-1859

    Write a Letter to Someone You Admire

    Play Bocce Ball

    Make a Carnival Mask

    inline-image 6 inline-image

    VIVA V.E.R.D.I.

    1860-1869

    Debate and Vote on an Issue

    Design and Sew a Flag

    inline-image 7 inline-image

    Alia

    1870-1879

    Paint a Poster to Advertise Aida

    Create Pizza Party Invitations

    inline-image 8 inline-image

    FINALE—GREAT MUSIC AND GOOD WORKS

    1880-1901

    Plant a Tomato Sauce Garden

    Sketch a Costume Design for Falstaff

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    RESOURCES

    Recommended Recordings, DVDs, and Websites

    NOTES

    GLOSSARY

    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    INDEX

    Open my heart and you will see, Graved inside of it, Italy.

    —Robert Browning, English poet

    FOREWORD

    I’M VERY HAPPY that you’ve chosen to pick up this book about the life of the renowned opera composer Giuseppe Verdi!

    In today’s 21st-century world, opera often takes a backseat to other types of music. In fact, classical music in general is rarely the option that many people, especially young people, choose to listen to.

    But oh! What those people are missing!

    Opera is full of drama and emotion, intrigue and action. It’s an art form that combines live singing of the most spectacular kind with vivid acting and the playing of great music—all in one place and at one time.

    One of the most important things about opera that many kids don’t realize: we singers do it all without microphones. We study and train for years to be able to sing beautifully—not shout—over the playing of orchestras that sometimes number over a hundred pieces. Impressive, no?

    Speaking of impressive, Giuseppe Verdi was one of the best of all the opera composers. His operas (he composed about 28 of them) have been performed for enthusiastic audiences for more than 170 years and are often the mainstay of many of the world’s opera houses today. Even if you are completely new to opera, you would probably be surprised by how much of Verdi’s music you have already heard, and do hear, in everyday life. Themes from his operas are used in movies, commercials, and celebratory events to this day, and are famous and familiar.

    When I was growing up and finding that I loved to sing, singing at both my school and my church, I really had no idea that some 30 years down the road I would be one of the world’s most well-known opera sopranos. At the time I didn’t know anything about opera. Then one day one of my voice teachers said to me, I think you have a voice that could sing opera! I was thrilled; it was like being admitted into a wonderful, secret world that held untold treasures. And it does.

    This is why I’m so excited for you that you’ve decided to pick up this book. Whether you sing or find that you have the wonderful ability to recognize and enjoy great classical music when you hear it, learning about and listening to opera is a very fulfilling and exciting experience that will continue to bring you joy for your entire life.

    Welcome to the world of Giuseppe Verdi!

    Deborah Volgt

    NOTE TO READERS

    THE YEAR 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth. Verdi not only gave us glorious operas but lived his life with devotion to his country and its people. His concerns ranged from the lofty ideals of freedom for his compatriots to compassion for the less fortunate and to the nurturing of the land. He lived through the horrible loss of his family and had to deal with the disapproving opinions of his neighbors. The composer became a national symbol of patriotism and Italian culture. Today, his operas are performed throughout the world.

    From this book you will gain knowledge about Verdi’s life, an understanding of Italy’s revolutionary struggle, and a taste of opera that will, I hope, develop into a lasting interest that can enrich each day. Operatic and musical terms are set in bold type at their first appearance in the text and defined in a glossary in the back. Sidebars throughout expand on the people and events that touched Verdi’s life, and music notes delve more deeply into the musical concepts introduced. The activities are fun and entertaining, and they highlight aspects of Verdi’s life and times.

    Viva music!

    TIME LINE

    1813 inline-image Giuseppe Verdi is born on October 9 in Roncole, Italy, to parents Luigia and Carlo

    1815 inline-image Battle of Waterloo; Napoleon is defeated

    1817 inline-image Verdi attends elementary school

    1818 inline-image Starts music lessons in Busseto, Italy

    1821 inline-image Carbonari uprising in Naples, Italy

    1822 inline-image Verdi becomes organist in Saint Michael the Archangel Church in Roncole

    1823 inline-image Attends the Busseto ginnasio (secondary school)

    1825 inline-image Studies with Ferdinando Provesi

    1829 inline-image Becomes Provesi’s assistant

    1832 inline-image Moves to Milan, Italy, and applies to the Milan Conservatory; begins private studies with Vincenzo Lavigna

    1833 inline-image Provesi dies; Verdi’s sister Giuseppa dies

    1836 inline-image Verdi becomes music master in Busseto and composes Oberto; marries Margherita Barezzi

    1837 inline-image Birth of Verdi’s daughter Virginia

    1838 inline-image Verdi resigns job as music master in Busetto; his son Icilio is born; Virginia dies.

    1839 inline-image Verdi moves to Milan; son Icilio dies; premiere of Oberto at La Scala

    1840 inline-image Verdi’s wife, Margherita, dies; Verdi returns to Busseto; Un giorno di regno premieres at La Scala

    1842 inline-image Nabucco premieres at La Scala; Giuseppina Strepponi sings the role of Abigaille

    1843 inline-image I Lombardi premieres at La Scala

    1844 inline-image Ernani debuts in Venice and I due Foscari debuts in Rome

    1845 inline-image Giovanna d’Arco premieres at La Scala

    1846 inline-image Attila premieres in Venice

    1847 inline-image Macbeth premieres in Florence; I masnadieri debuts in London; Jérusalem premieres in Paris; Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi move to Paris

    1848 inline-image First Italian War of Independence; Verdi returns to Milan during the uprisings, buys land

    1849 inline-image Rome declared a republic; Verdi returns to Busseto with Giuseppina Strepponi

    1851 inline-image Rigoletto premieres in Venice; Verdi moves to Sant’Agata; Luigia Verdi dies

    1853 inline-image Uprising in Milan; Il trovatore premieres in Rome; La traviata premieres in Venice

    1859 inline-image Second Italian War of Independence; Un ballo in maschera premieres in Rome; slogan Viva V.E.R.D.I. is heard; Verdi marries Giuseppina Strepponi

    1860 inline-image Giuseppe Garibaldi leads an uprising in Italy

    1861 inline-image Verdi is elected as a member of the first Italian Parliament

    1865 inline-image Verdi resigns from Parliament

    1866 inline-image Third Italian War of Independence; Verdi lives in Paris

    1867 inline-image Carlo Verdi dies; Antonio Barezzi dies; Verdi returns to Italy and becomes the guardian of his great niece Maria Filomena

    1869 inline-image The new Cairo Opera House opens with Rigoletto

    1870 inline-image Franco-Prussian War begins

    1871 inline-image Franco-Prussian War ends; Rome becomes the capital of Italy; Aida premieres in Cairo

    1875 inline-image Verdi sworn in as a senator to the Italian Parliament in Rome

    1876 inline-image Conducts Aida in Paris

    1878 inline-image Maria Filomena marries

    1879 inline-image Maria Filomena gives birth to a daughter

    1883 inline-image Richard Wagner dies

    1887 inline-image Otello premieres at La Scala; Verdi awarded honorary citizenship of Milan

    1889 inline-image Verdi buys land to build the Casa di riposo, a rest home for elderly musicians, in Milan

    1893 inline-image Falstaff premieres at La Scala; Verdi made an honorary citizen of Rome

    1897 inline-image Giuseppina dies

    1898 inline-image Verdi lives in a suite in the Grand Hotel in Milan

    1899 inline-image Official opening of the Casa di riposo

    1901 inline-image Verdi suffers a stroke and dies

    INTRODUCTION

    Italian Opera—A History of Splendor and Beauty

    SINCE THE EXOTIC travels of Marco Polo, the 13th-century explorer, Italians have delved into uncharted realms. Over the centuries many inquisitive Italians spent their lives investigating, researching, testing, and probing the unknown and the untried. These intelligent, curious people have made significant contributions to the arts, literature, philosophy, science, and music. In fact, the beginning of modern Western civilization can be attributed to Italians.

    Reflecting their quest for knowledge, Italians founded the first European university in Bologna in 1088. The school was declared independent from the educational institutions of the church by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. By the 12th century the university was attracting students and scholars from many European countries. One hundred years later the curriculum grew to include philosophy and medicine.

    Rinascimento, the Italian word for rebirth, provided the name of the Renaissance—a period of about 150 years beginning in 1450 that restored an interest in learning using classical sources. The scholars of the Renaissance researched and debated literature, economics, government, science, and the arts. This rebirth began in the Italian city of Florence before spreading to other countries. The Renaissance lifted the heavy curtains that had kept Europe dark throughout the Middle Ages as great thinkers took a fresh look at the arts and sciences and stressed individual achievement, logic, and reason. Scholars sought factual scientific evidence and observed the universe and natural phenomena with open minds, which allowed them to develop new ideas and inventions. The Renaissance brought about a cultural and intellectual revival that led to many changes in Western society.

    The Baroque era followed the Renaissance. Starting in 1600, this period also lasted about 150 years. The word baroque means elaborate and refers to the ornate style of the art, music, and architecture of the era. This movement began in Rome during a time of much tension and turmoil in Europe. Throughout the Baroque epoch all the economic, religious, educational, governmental, and scientific traditions of society were in transition.

    Many of the world’s most recognized artists are Italian. The Renaissance and Baroque artists created magnificent paintings and sculptures. The most famous include Michelangelo (1475-1564) and Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Michelangelo was a sculptor, architect, and engineer as well as a painter. A man of many talents and interests, Leonardo da Vinci sculpted, painted, invented, and studied science.

    Renaissance musicians wrote secular as well as religious works. Madrigals were secular songs in which the

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