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When Verdi Slept
'La Battaglia di Legnano',
reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
La Battaglia di Legnano is the only outright patriotic opera in Giuseppe Verdi's catalogue. It was commissioned by the Teatro Argentina after the 1848 riots; at that time in Rome, following the uprising, Pope Pius IX attempted to create a semi-constitutional monarchy with a Parliamentary Assembly and a Prime Minister to run the State. The attempt did not last long; after the murder of a reformist Prime Minister and new upheavals, the Pope escaped to a French fortress and garrison in Gaeta. A Roman Republic was established with a lot of revolutionary fervour; it lasted merely five months and was overtaken by French troops. La Battaglia di Legnano was premiered with tremendous success on 27 January 1849, just before the Pope's escape to Gaeta and the proclamation of the Roman Republic; for several nights, its entire fourth act was enthusiastically encored...
Copyright © 29 May 2011
Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy
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