The writer William Berger thinks the operas of Giuseppi Verdi could be Viagra for the American soul. He says Verdi is just the pick-me-up for a gray and boring culture starved for real romance, hampered by creativity, and diminished of any individuality. In his time, Guiseppe Verdi was like the top-40 producer of Opera: his hit tunes were wildly popular and spoke to people’s emotions and patriotism. But by the 1950s, Verdi was relegated to the unremarkable mainstream, too low-brow for the high-brow and too high-brow for the low-brow.
Now, almost one-hundred years after his death, the peasant from Roncole is enjoying a kind of renaissance. All 27 opera’s, even the ones first considered flops, are being revived today. They’ve become the backbone of opera companies all over the world; and works like Aida, La Traviata, and Rigoletto set the mood for everything from TV commercials to cartoons. Verdi with a vengeance is this hour on the Connection.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
William Berger, author of “Verdi with a Vengeance.”