Giuseppe Verdi – Sheet Music & Scores

“To copy the truth can be a good thing, but to invent the truth is better, much better. ’ Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)

It is fair to say that Verdi, in his musical career, had very little need to copy the truth. He was one of the most important figures of Italian Opera, and is particularly well know for his Messa da Requiem . Browse our sheet music and scores for Giuseppe Verdi, and explore all his magnificent works today.

Verdi’s Operas

Many of Verdi’s 28 operas, along with many of Mozart’s operas and the operas by Giacomo Puccini, belong to the most frequently performed stage works worldwide today.

After his first two operas failed to capture audience’s imagination, Verdi made his first real break-through in 1842 with Nabucco. For the next two decades, he premiered a new opera almost every year. His operatic masterpieces include La Traviata, Aida, Rigoletto, La Forza del Destino, Macbeth and Don Carlos.

His later works

His later works, Otello, and his comic opera Falstaff are through composed, moving away from the tradition number opera, recitative and aria form. This new musical form forged the way for modern classical music, and can be regarded as the basis of modern day film music, while the works of Giacomo Meyerbeer and in particular Richard Wagner helped to shape the Hollywood sound world which we know and love today.

Despite his varied chamber music and cantatas, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem is considered his most important work, outside his operatic repertoire.

Other interests

Verdi was not only a highly esteemed composer, he was also a successful landowner, and he even dabbled in politics. In 1895 he built a hospital near Busseto, and a retirement home for musicians in Milan, which is still in operation today.

A few Verdi suggestions

• Verdi Operas
• Soprano Arias by Verdi
• Mezzo Arias by Verdi
• Tenor Arias by Verdi
• Baritone Arias by Verdi
• Bass Arias by Verdi