Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-06
THE IMMORTAL VERDI.
Brief Life of One Whose Death Casts
Gloom Over the Musical World.

The announcement of the death of this
great composer in the early part of last
week. cast gloom over the dramatic and
musical world. He died at Milan at th4
age OF 81, one of the few great men OF
the past century who attained such an
age and retained intellectual viSor up to
the hour of his demise
Although preceded by a struggle for
lie that lasted two days, Verdi's death
when it came was peaceful He did not
regain consciousness. When he passed
away he was surrounded by relativ
and intimate friends. The announcement
of his death created much emotion and
theaters, stores and many pleasure re-
sorts We're closed and nearly all the
prominent residences We're draped.
Giuseppe Verdi, who was known to the
last generation as the composer of "Rigo-
letto,' III Trovatore" AN La Favorita"
and to the present one DIS the creator OF
'Aida," "Otello'' and Fa staff, was bor,.
in the same year Falscaff. He was the
son Of an innkeeper, and first saw the
light at Busseto, in tle duchy of Parma,
on October 10, 1873. His ia Their added to
his ordinary business a little trade in
groceries and tobacco. The young Verdi's
love of music was noted from early child
hood and his first instructions were given
him by an obscure Organist in his native
town. When he was 10 years old he went
to Milan at the expense of a rich mer-
chant of BussetO, named Antonio
Barezzi, and began serious work under
I4avigna, member of the orchestra of
La Scala. Part of his expenses were paid
out of a fund of the commune of BussetO,
which had it's origin in the seventeenth
century, and when Verdi had finished his
! education at Milan he considered 1t his
duty to return to Busseto and play the
church organ there for several years IN
return for the assistance given him from
this fund. After fulfilling a three-year
engagement here, during which time ne
| was also studying operate composition,
he returned to Milan and began the work
of his life, the composition of operas.
| His first opera was "Oberto. Conte di
! San Bonifacio." and was brought out
| at Milan in 1889. 1t met with a moder-
| ate success, and the director Of La Scala
| engaged him to write more operas, to be
| paid for at the rate of 500 apiece. In
| the spring of 1910, while at work upon
| "Un Giorno di Regno,' a comic opera,
his wife and two children died, and the
| opera composed while laboring under
! this grief was a complete failure.
| For a time after this bereavement and
| disappointment Verdi gave up all COM
position, and declarett,that he had done
with music. But, accidentally finding a
Ssubject which pleased him, he resumed
work, and in 1912 produced "Nabuco-
donosor." 1t was a great success, and
instantly established his fame. The en-
! thusiasm over it at it's production was
| so great that Verdi at first believed the
| public was making fun of him. In this
work he developed those characteristics
of brilliant melody and vivid musico-
dramatic effects which maintained his
| popularity undiminished throughout his
| working life.
! In 1S43 he produced II lombard"
| which made strong impression
| throughout Italy, and during the years
1S44-45 he wrote five grand operas,
"Ernani,' Il due Foscari." "Giovanna
| d'Arco." "Alzira," and "Attila.'
"Ernani' was for a time the most
popular of his works. and was first pre-
scented in Venice in March, 1874.
at Florence. in 1s47. he produced
| Macbeth" which secured extraordinary
/ public recognition. Verdi was called be-
| fore the audience more than thirty times
at each Of the first three performances
! was escorted to and from the theater by
triumphal professions. and was offered
the testimonial of a golden crown. Thesa
| demonstrations. however. were due more
to the political allusion in the ibretto
than to the artistic qualities Of the opera.
In lS47 he visited London and there
! produced II Masnadisri." in the repre-
sentation of whit h Jenny Lind took tn
principal part. In lSi9 he wrote Tor