NEW YORK—Followers of Guiseppe Verdi, says Anna Maria Meo, are on par with sports fans in their zeal. They watch closely whenever a new player is cast in a production of one of his operas and have no qualms about loudly voicing their critiques if they feel some interpretation isn’t true to him. Sure, they love other composers, but not with the same passion and defensive spirit, she said.
Meo would know. Just a couple of days before, she had wrapped up one of the largest celebrations of the composer: a month-long, nonstop music festival in his hometown of Parma, Italy.
Meo was appointed general director of Festival Verdi less than two years ago, and has doubled attendance and expanded the festival’s offerings significantly in the 2016 edition, which ended Oct. 30. Only a few days later, there was already a flood of interest from festival-goers about the 2017 program, and her schedule was already filled with meetings to promote Festival Verdi internationally.
In animated tones and at times full-on pantomime, Meo spoke of the power of music; art and our heritage; the old masters; and getting young people interested in opera.
Verdi, sometimes known as the king of opera, is possibly the most produced opera composer in the world. He wrote 27 operas (a disputed number) in his lifetime, and they remain some of the most popular operas today. You can be sure that even those who have no interest in opera can recognize some of his melodies, and even hum along.
“I think the secret of Verdi’s music, apart from being incredibly beautiful, is always speaking to the heart of people,” Meo said. “This is the secret that makes his music always actual, present, and never getting old.”
