Giuseppina Strepponi
Giuseppina, actually Clelia Maria Josepha Strepponi ( born September 8, 1815 in Lodi, † November 14, 1897 in Sant'Agata di Villanova Sull'Arda in Busseto ) was an Italian opera singer. Since 1847, she was the companion and since 1859 the second wife of Giuseppe Verdi.
Life
Training
Giuseppina (also called " Peppina " ) was the daughter of Feliciano Strepponi ( 1797-1832 ), a composer and conductor, who was assistant director since 1827 at the Teatro Grande in Trieste; her mother was Rosa Cornalba. She was the eldest of five siblings. Your first musical education, including piano lessons, she received from her father, who, however, in 1832, when she was 17 years old, died of encephalitis.
With its inclusion in the Milan Conservatory convinced by her voice and was admitted to the university. 1834, she graduated from the first prize for bel canto.
Career as an opera singer
Giuseppina began her stage career at the Boxing Day 1834 at the Teatro Orfeo in the Adriatic, with a performance by Luigi Ricci's opera di Chiara Rosenberg. Then she got an engagement at the Teatro Grande in Trieste, where she officially debuted in January 1835 as a prima donna in Rossini's Matilde di Shabran. Early in her career she was considered the opinion of the critics as outstanding singer intoning and convincing actress.
Already in 1836 she sang in the Venice Norma. Through the mediation of the impresario Alessandro Lanari she sang soon in other major Italian opera houses like in Verona, Florence and Rome, 1839 she was engaged at La Scala as Prima Donna, where she sang Lucia. She appeared there in Bellini's Puritans, and in Donizetti's Elixir of Love. Presumably they learned at this time also know Giuseppe Verdi.
As a well-paid opera singer, she supported her widowed mother, was responsible for the training of two of her sisters and her brother David made it possible to study medicine in Pavia.
In its work, at the Teatro Apollo in Rome, she also got to know Donizetti, who dedicated his opera Adelia, to be premiered on 11 February 1841. This premiere went down in the history of opera as a scandal. As more tickets had been sold on the black market than there were seats, the performance after riots had to be canceled. The theater manager was arrested, but came back the next day, at the instigation of Giuseppina, again.
During their engagement Giuseppina had several extramarital affairs and gave birth to three children out of wedlock, on 14 January 1838 son Camillo ( Camillino ), on February 9, 1839, daughter Sinforosa and on 4 November 1841 in Trieste, the daughter Adelina, they foster care left and who died on October 4, 1842 Ruhr. Although the impresario Camillo Cirelli legitimized the first two children, but it remains uncertain whether he was the father.
At a first encounter with Verdi testified it was released in December 1841 in Milan, as the composer with her and the baritone Giorgio Ronconi the roles of the upcoming world premiere Nabucco went through.
Resignation as a singer
Due to their high incidence (up to six times a week ) and they ruined their pregnancies early on her voice. Already in the first performance of Nabucco on 9 March 1842 and had vocal health problems. Nevertheless, the Nabucco began her friendship with Verdi, she advised in the sequence in theater questions.
After a one year break and a recovery stay in Recoare she returned on April 17, 1843 in Parma for the premiere of Nabucco as Abigail to the stage. Although Verdi conducted only the first two performances, but remained in Parma. In the autumn of the same year she also appeared in Nabucco in Bologna. Verdi accompanied them often, and already at that time the love affair might have started to Verdi.
Your involvement in Palermo from October 1844 to March 1845 was again marked by vocal problems, and one critic wrote after the premiere of Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix of a " fading star" and a " poor performance". Nevertheless, she was able to celebrate once again triumphs in their subsequent involvement in Alessandria and in Modena.
1846 she joined after fulfillment of their contracts definitively from the stage off to open in Paris, and on the recommendation of Verdi, a singing school. After two concerts themselves, the composer and music critic Hector Berlioz was positive about her great voice and the warmth they put in their songs.
Companion of Verdi
A reunion with Verdi took place in June 1847, when he traveled via Paris to London to prepare for the premiere of his opera I Masnadieri. After the premiere, and the first repetition, he returned to Giuseppina back to Paris, where he remained, except for two interruptions, until the summer of 1849 that I Lombardi for grand opera Jérusalem redesigned, the opera Il corsaro completed and the Risorgimento opera about the Battle of Legnano composed. At that time he was often to be found in the House of Strepponi, and she was instrumental in bringing about the operas. Verdi dedicated her 1848 song composition " L' abandonnée " ( The Abandoned ).
In the revolutionary year of 1848 Giuseppina lost many singing pupils. After Verdi had returned in July 1849 to Italy and had the Palazzo Cavalli - Dordoni rented in Busseto, she followed him in September of the same year. The singer had a difficult stand in Busseto They are cut, and the pew beside her was empty. There was also controversy with Verdi's father. After further hostilities, Verdi and Giuseppina attracted back to the 1848 Sant'Agata each product bought in the spring of 1851. The Winter 1851/52 spent the couple in Paris, where they saw The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, the literary model for La traviata on stage among others.
Giuseppina was a significant stake in the passing of Verdi's operas. So they translated the literary models of Il trovatore, Simon Boccanegra, and later accompanied Aida and advise the composition process. In addition, she was the one who did the correspondence with publishers, theater managers and singers to large parts.
From the time when Verdi 1853 was without her companion in Rome and rehearsed the Troubadour, some love letters Giuseppina Strepponis are obtained in which they once regretted that she could not have children with Verdi. While Verdi turned back the end of January, to work together with librettist Piave to La traviata, but she left already on February 21, again because of the samples for La traviata in Venice. In October 1853, she traveled with Verdi to Paris to prepare for the premiere of the budget for the Universal Exhibition opera Les vêpres siciliennes. Both returned until the end of December 1855 back to Italy. 1858, the time of the composition of the masked ball she once complained in a letter that Verdi more interested in the construction of a bridge and the planting of trees as for the composition. He had probably written a note for months, but now start at least to throw dirty looks at the paper the score. Verdi had previously added the same thing: " Peppina reads, writes, works. I do not care ."
Marriage with Verdi
On August 29, 1859 at the end of the second Italian War of Independence, legitimized Verdi and Giuseppina their relationship with the church wedding in Collanges -sous -Salève (Savoy) near Geneva. Subsequently, the Verdi returned to Sant'Agata, to rebuild their villa. Due to Verdi's deputies activity he was frequently absent from 1861. In the summer of 1861, the librettist Piave was several times to visit, to work with the Verdi Libretto planned for St. Petersburg opera La forza del destino. The next time was filled with travel. On 24 November, the Verdi journeyed to Russia, but returned in March to return to Paris, as the premiere was delayed because of the illness of the prima donna. After a stopover in Paris, where the composition of the anthem of nations arose, Giuseppina Verdi first traveled alone to London, where she quickly learned English and led the negotiations. Verdi followed her in April. The next winter, the couple traveled again to Russia and then to Paris, where Verdi Les vêpres siciliennes should be re- rehearse. However, Verdi was appalled by the sloppiness and returned to Italy.
1865 Verdi came back as a member of parliament. At least since 1866 kriselte in marriage. At this time, Giuseppina Verdi lamented several times in letters and diary entries about the bad temper of her husband and the cooled ratio. The ratio improved slightly, as Verdi little Maria Filomena, the daughter of a niece, adopted. Beginning in 1868, she complained in their written in French diary again on Verdi's dissatisfaction and marital disputes.
To a serious marriage crisis, it did not last because of the singer Teresa Stolz, who had met Verdi later than 1869 when rehearsals for the Italian premiere of the revised version of La forza del destino and should play a crucial role in his life soon, and several times in Sant ' Agata was visiting. Teresa Stolz was singing in the Italian premiere of Aida, the soprano part in the Messa da Requiem and all leading roles in Verdi after 1850 of new art. Whether it was at a platonic love, is doubtful. It was not until 1878-1884, when Arrigo Boito Verdi was able to persuade the composition of Otello, there was a full reconciliation of the couple.
1894 traveled Verdi and his wife for the last time in Paris. The Hungarian writer Dezso Szomori ruled on an encounter with the Verdi Verdi that a man with small eyes and next to him Giuseppina like an old bird looked, but continued: " A beautiful and charming couple who become old together in the world of music have. "
Giuseppina Verdi suffered at the age of stomach problems and arthritis and was in her last year barely move. Even Verdi was suffering from age-related complaints. In the fall of 1897, the now 82 -year-old was preparing still the traditional winter change of residence to Genoa before, but was then bedridden. She died after a long illness on November 14, 1897 in Sant'Agata in Busseto with pneumonia and was initially buried in Milan. Verdi wide in Milan on January 27, 1901, had in 1899 expressed the wish that he wanted to be buried here beside his wife in the house chapel of the donated by him retirement home for impoverished musicians (Casa di Riposo ). Verdi was initially buried in a Milan cemetery next to her, but already at February 26, 1901 both bodies were exhumed and transferred to the oratory in the courtyard of the Casa di Riposo, where they found their final resting place. Here, a chorus of 900 singers sang under the baton of Arturo Toscanini to capture Va pensiero chorus from Nabucco.
Aftermath
Giuseppina remained primarily as a companion and later wife Verdi in memory. She was the subject of several biographies. Her numerous letters with publishers and agents testify their active role in Verdi's life.