Stamp of the Month: August 2017

Umberto Giordano studied piano, orchestration, conducting and scenic composition at the Conservatory of Naples. In 1888 he caused a sensation with his first opera “Mariana”, when he finished as the youngest participant in a competition among 73 candidates the 6th Place. With his second opera “Mala vita” he created in 1891/92 one of the first operas in the style of verismo. Although Giordano also composed lyrical and romantic operas, his verismo operas were especially successful. With his striking operas Giordano therefore applies in addition to Pietro Mascagni and Ruggiero Leoncavallo as the leading exponent of verismo.