Considered one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most important vocal-symphonic works, the Requiem was composed to honor the memory of the poet, playwright, and novelist Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873), “the soul of national literature,” who, like the Italian composer, advocated for the unification of Italy through his art. Verdi’s idea to compose a Requiem initially stemmed from the death of another prominent figure in Italian culture: composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) – the most ...