Verdi is revealed as an energetic, rigorous composer of tireless creativity, as a national hero, and as an upright, austere man much loved by his family and friends.The first major biography of Verdi for a generation, Mary Jane Matz's new work studies one of the greatest, the most successful, and the longest-lived of all composers. Nearly a century after his death, many of his operas remain in the standard repertory, and some, such as Rigoletto, La Traviata,and Aida, are among the most popular of all operas.Drawing on a wide range of sources, this is an authoritative account of a long, vigorous, and varied life. The author captures the s complexities involved in the composition and production of Verdi's operas. She also explores his possessive love for his home region and his tireless devotion tohis farmlands, and examines Verid's professional and personal relationships, particularly with Guiseppina Strepponi, his mistress and later his wife. The first major biography of Verdi for a generation, this is a fitting study of a great composer.