It’s a tragic opera that centres on a doomed relationship
Luisa falls in love with Rodolfo, unaware he is really the son of a powerful Count.
When Rodolfo’s father learns his son is in love with a peasant, he does all in his power to destroy the relationship, with tragic consequences.
Verdi is the nineteenth century’s leading opera composer
In the first half of the nineteenth-century, Italian opera was spearheaded by three composers: Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. In the second half, only one man dominated the scene.
When the last of the three great composers died in 1868, thing weren’t looking good for Italian opera. That is until Giuseppe Verdi came on the scene. Read our beginner’s guide to Verdi
From 1845, until his death in 1901, Verdi revitalised Italian classical music. This was especially thanks to his most-famous trio of works, Rigoletto (1851) Il trovatore (1853), and La traviata (1853)
The opera helped Verdi explore a new composing style
Luisa Miller is the last opera Verdi composed before his famous three, and is generally considered as the first opera in his ‘middle period’.
Verdi used a more refined composing style with Luisa Miller than the opera’s predecessors. Because of this, Luisa Miller is generally considered as the proving ground for the polished musical style he perfected four years later with one of his greatest works, La traviata.
ENO Luisa Miller: production gallery
Take a look at these production shots from English National Opera’s 2020 production of Giuseppe Verdi‘s Luisa Miller.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Verdi