Search - Life of Verdi, The on DVD

Samuel K. (Solvanda)
Reviewed on 8/1/2018...

Miniseries which aired in 1982. Joint Italian and British production. This is a precisely detailed chronicling of Verdi's long life, which was anything but boring. Rich background on each opera he composed, the effects these had on the times, and the historical figures involved in bringing each one to the light of day. He had a fondness for Shakespeare and operatically interpreted many of his plays. This is quite the educational piece and I learned much about the history of Europe and Italy.

The impact of Verdi's genius is still ever present with us today. You may find you are more familiar with some of his work than you know. Not a day goes by on this planet without one of his operas being performed somewhere, sometime, someplace. Giuseppe Verdi had an empathetic human heart at his core, was kind and thankful in demeanor, and left an entire nation in grief when he parted ways in death.

"The Life of Verdi" is an epic behemoth. It was filmed on location in Italy, Leningrad, London, and Paris. Took several years to create, requiring more than 100 actors, 1800 extras, and 4000 costumes. This version of the title has much Italian language with English subtitling, mixed in with some English language too. Also narrated by Burt Lancaster. Seven 90 minute episodes (well, the last one is about 120.) I feel ineffably enriched having viewed this series, certain it will persist with me a long time.

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