Inno delle nazioni
| Inno delle nazioni | |
|---|---|
| by Giuseppe Verdi | |
Cover of first edition of the vocal score of the hymn (design by Alessandro or Robert Focosi)
|
|
| Genre | cantata |
| Occasion | 1862 International Exhibition |
| Text | by Arrigo Boito |
| Language | Italian, with portions in English and French |
| Composed | 1862 |
| Performed | 24 May 1862: Her Majesty's Theatre, London |
| Scoring | solo tenor, chorus and orchestra |
Inno delle nazioni (Hymn of nations), a cantata in a single movement, is one of only two secular choral works composed by Giuseppe Verdi. This Hymn incorporates "God Save the King", "La Marseillaise", and "Il Canto degli Italiani". It was the first collaboration between the composer and Arrigo Boito, who, much later, would revise the libretto of Simon Boccanegra and write the original libretti of Otello and Falstaff.
Although written for the 1862 International Exhibition in London, it premiered at Her Majesty's Theatre on 24 May 1862. It became the centerpiece of a 1944 propaganda film, Hymn of the Nations, where it was performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini with Jan Peerce as tenor soloist.
In December 1858, the Society of Arts in London announced their intention to hold what was to be called the 1862 International Exhibition, seen as a successor to The Great Exhibition of 1851. Wanting to include musical performances (which were excluded from the 1851 exhibition), at the suggestion of the leading music critic Henry Chorley, they solicited new works from Daniel Auber (representing France), William Sterndale Bennett (England), Giacomo Meyerbeer (Germany) and Gioachino Rossini (Italy). Rossini declined the invitation.
...
Wikipedia