Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), essentially a dandy version of another famous Giuseppe.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Giuseppe Verdi - Requiem: “Ingemisco”
Beniamino Gigli, Tenor
Text of the ‘Dies Irae’ with English trans. ‘Ingemisco’ begins about 2/3rds down.
Chamberlain, Mussolini, Lord Halifax, and Count Ciano attend a peformance in the Rome Opera House in 1939, the same year and venue as Gigli’s haunting, portentous Verdi Requiem recording. Music is rarely far from politics; still, it isn’t often this close. The opera house’s 1926 refurbishing infamously put Mussolini’s name above center stage.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Giuseppe Verdi - Requiem: “Lacrimosa, Dies Illa”
Recorded in 1939 at the Rome Opera House
