Opera Background

Based on Zacharias Werner’s Romantic play, Attila, König der Hunnen, Verdi initially engaged the talents of Temistocle Solera to create a piece that would further Italy’s Risorgimento. However, the collaboration was dissolved when Verdi fell ill and Solera relocated permanently to Madrid. Verdi was thus forced to call upon his usual librettist, Francesco Maria Piave. Verdi encouraged Piave to move away from the large-scale choral moments that Solera had sketched and instead, focus on individuals and duets. That Verdi worked with two librettists is apparent in the final act when the opera seems to not know whether it is a drama of individuals (like Ernani or I due Foscari) or something more public (as in Nabucco or I Lombardi). Critics have noted that the grand choral finale that Solera initially sketched may have been more appropriate.

Nevertheless, Attila became the most popular opera of the 1850’s but gradually waned in popularity by the beginning of the next century. Attila has been called a “tub-thumping” opera and "forcefully direct." Indeed, the title role demands a powerful bass singer who can sustain bravura and command the audience's attention. As a piece that falls within Verdi’s early period, Attila is perhaps best appreciated for its youthful vitality and magnificent spirit.

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