Verdi - The King Of Melody (1953) Directed by Raffaello Matarazzo
Biography / Drama / Music / Romance
aka: The Life and Music of Giuseppe Verdi
Film Review
One of Italy's most accomplished directors of film melodrama, Raffaello
Matarazzo was well-placed to direct this sentimental account of the
life of the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. As an artist
reveals himself through his work, it is fitting that Verdi's own music
should play such an important part in the film, revealing the complex,
emotionally torn man beneath the conventional and controlled
exterior. Extracts of virtually all of the composer's most
important operas (Nabucco, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida, Rigoletto, Otello)
are included (and moving rendered by two legendary
stars of Italian opera, the tenor Mario Del Monaco and baritone Tito
Gobbi). His music is also used to provide the score, allowing us
to make connections between the characters and incidents in Verdi's own
life and those which these presumably inspired in his work.
It is a shame that the original colour version of the film, made with
the short-lived Ferraniacolor process, is of such poor quality and has
yet to be restored. Fortunately, the more widely available
black-and-white print is in near-pristine condition and amply does
justice to its subject matter - it can be argued that the moody
photography (close to expressionism in some scenes) has far greater
visual impact in monochrome than it would have in colour.
Matarazzo's direction is more workmanlike than inspired but he succeeds
in delivering a worthy tribute to a great composer. Compelling
performances from Pierre Cressoy and Gaby André (both extremely
well-cast as Verdi and Giuseppina, reputedly the inspiration for the
courtesan Violetta in La Traviata) give the film its emotional core, on
which Verdi's music is skilfully layered to render the latter scenes in
the film intensely moving. Lovers of the music of Giuseppe Verdi
could hardly hope for a more involving and satisfying biopic than
Raffaello Matarazzo's Verdi - The
King Of Melody.
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Film Synopsis
In January 1901, the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi lies on his
deathbed and looks back on his eventful life and career. He
recalls his arrival in Milan as a young man with his wife Margherita
and infant son Gino, only to find that the impresario for whom he was
supposed to work has gone out of business. Virtually penniless,
Verdi perseveres and succeeds in selling his first opera, Oberto, to
Bartolomeo Merelli, the impresario of La Scala. The opera is a
huge success, but this triumph is soon overtaken by tragedy as Verdi's
son dies, followed by his wife a short while later. The failure
of his second opera, Un giorno di regno, almost convinces Verdi he should give up being a composer. But then inspiration
takes hold of him and he delivers another success, Nabucco. This
is the opera that establishes Verdi as one of Italy's great composers,
but whilst professional success now comes easily, personal happiness
proves far more elusive. Verdi's love affair with the soprano
Giuseppina Strepponi is abruptly ended when his father-in-law convinces
Giuseppina she must give up Verdi so that he can devote himself to his
music. Heartbroken by Giuseppina's rejection, Verdi will go on to
compose his great masterpieces before the couple are reunited, many
years later...
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