Ivan Repušić, as chief conductor of the Münchner Rundfunkorchester since 2017/2018, has led a cycle of early and rarely performed Verdi operas, including Luisa Miller, I due Foscari, Attila, and I Lombardi alla prima crociata.
Historical Context
In 19th-century Italian operas, ballets were usually separate works performed between acts or after the opera, with little connection to the main operatic work.
Compositional Technique
Verdi gave new impetus to contemporary ballet music through catchy melodies, lively rhythms, chromatic effects, vivid gestures, and incredibly colorful orchestration in his dance compositions.
Performer Biography
Ivan Repušić, the Croatian conductor, developed a broad Italian repertoire early in his career as chief conductor and opera director of the Croatian National Theatre in Split.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Italian opera composers, including Verdi, often reluctantly submitted to the French preference for extensive dance interludes, finding it difficult to create ballet music with a close dramatic relationship to the opera's action.
Historical Context
The Paris Opéra had a strict convention requiring an extensive dance interlude, or divertissement, in the third act of a grand opéra.
Cultural Impact
Verdi composed the most opera ballets for the Paris Opéra, with his influence clearly audible even in the works of outstanding ballet composers like Léo Delibes and Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky.
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