final series far overtopping all his earlier works, including Aïda (1871, Cairo), Otello (1887, Milan) and Falstaff (1893, Milan)—the last, though finished in his 80th year, being one of the strong works of to-day. In the last two he had the benefit of fine librettos from the poet-composer Arrigo Boito, one of the brightest lights of the 'neo-Italian' group. Verdi also made a deep impression by his Requiem (1874) in honor of the national patriot Mazzini.
In all, his operas number over 30, most of them serious. Even those which were not counted successful contain important passages. Besides operas he wrote little.
Personally, his was a character of rugged independence and noble purpose. His simplicity of life, warm-heartedness, generosity, fervid love of country, with his brilliant genius, made him the idol of Italy. And he held the esteem of musicians everywhere by his versatile industry and his sincere excellence.
Of the opera-writers already mentioned (secs. 175-176) Rossini produced nothing after 1830; but there were still active Pacini (d. 1867), with 40 operas after 1840, including his best, Saffo (1840, Naples), and several others, like Medea (1843, Palermo) and La Regina di Cipro (1846, Turin); Donizetti (d. 1848), with all his best-known works between 1830 and '43; and Mercadante (d. 1870), with his masterpiece, Il giuramento (1837, Milan), and some others about the same time.
Others who had already appeared before 1830 were Pier Antonio Coppola (d. 1877), from 1816 a mediocre rival of Rossini, who made a hit with Nina pazza per amore (1835, Rome), followed by Gl'Illinesi (1837, Turin), etc., leading to his appointment about 1839 as conductor at Lisbon; the fine Neapolitan contrapuntist Carlo Conti (d. 1868), who had success with L' Olimpiade (1829, Naples); and Luigi Ricci (d. 1859), also of Naples, among whose 30 works were Amina (1829, Rome), Chiara di Rosemberg (1831, Milan), and Un'avventura di Scaramuccia (1835, Milan), which were admired outside of Italy.
From 1829 to '43, when Verdi first became a power, many composers began to be heard, among whom were the following:—Lauro Rossi (d. 1885), trained at Naples, from 1832 conductor at Rome, in 1835-44 on an operatic tour to Mexico, Havana and New Orleans, from 1850 head of the Milan conservatory, and in 1871-8 Mercadante's successor at Naples, producing almost 30 operas, of which the chief were I falsi monetari (1835, Milan), Il domino nero (1849, Milan) and La contessa di Mons (1874, Turin), besides an oratorio (1833), church music, etc.; Errico Petrella (d. 1877), another Neapolitan pupil, born the same year as Verdi and for a time his rival in Italy, with over 20 operas (none between 1839 and '51), such as Le miniere di Freibergh (1839, Naples), Le precauzioni (1851, Naples), Marco Visconti (1854, Naples), Elnava (1855, Milan), Ione (1858, Milan), La contessa d'Amalfi (1864, Turin), I promessi sposi (1866, Lecco) and Giovanna II (1869, Naples); Alberto Mazzucato (d. 1877), whose 7 operas (1834-44) were outclassed by Verdi's, but who from 1839 was an able teacher at the Milan conservatory and from 1872 its director, besides being concert-master at La Scala in 1859-69 and an industrious literary worker; Federico Ricci (d. 1877), with about 20 operas (at first with his brother Luigi), among them La prigione d'Edimburgo (1837, Trieste), Corrado d'Altamura (1841,
