Giuseppe Verdi

Title: New Outlook, Volume 67. Author: Alfred Emanuel Smith. Editor: Alfred Emanuel Smith. Publisher: Outlook Publishing Company, Inc., 1901. This Image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1924 are now in the public domain.

VERDI had both genius and a noble character. To this happy union he owes his fame.

Giuseppe Verdi, the humble son of a poor peasant farmer, was born in 1813, in one of a cluster of little houses called " Le Roncole," situated a few miles from the town of Bussetto, near Parma, in North Italy. When he was seven years old, his father sent him to the Bussetto public school, where, though he applied himself with a will to study, he soon showed an irresistible inclination for music.

After a while, the father, yielding to the plea of his son, consented to give him the advantage of lessons in music from the organist of the church of Bussetto, who was also something of an authority in counterpoint. The elder Verdi also bought for his son an old spinet. Thus the boy began his beloved occupation. He was then eight years old. All the time to be had outside of his school hours was employed in music and in reading. It may be added that, after music, reading was the passion of his life.