Why Did Verdi Never Enter the Theater Dedicated to Him?

Busseto was in fact geographically far from the major inhabited centers and located in the heart of the agricultural area of ​​the Po Valley. In addition, most of the population was made up of peasants, who would not have benefited materially from the construction of a theatrical structure.

In short, it was a question, to put it like Verdi, of a theater "of too much expense and useless in the future".

Finally, the Maestro did not appreciate the intrusiveness of the people from Busseto, who did not approve of his love affair with Giuseppina Strepponi, his future second wife, soprano and emancipated woman for the time.

The two, before getting married in 1859 after ten years of living together, lived in Palazzo Orlandi in Busseto. It is said that their windows had been stoned by some inhabitants of the village, who considered their bond outside marriage ties to be immoral.

So at the solemn inauguration of August 15, 1868, when, to honor him, almost all the ladies dressed in green, while for the gentlemen green was a must in the ties, the Maestro was conspicuously absent, although that day the Il Ballo in Maschera and Rigoletto were played.

Even afterwards he was careful not to set foot there, despite having offered a considerable sum of £. 10,000 for its construction and while owning a box.

The marble bust placed at the top of the access stairs, made by the sculptor Giovanni Duprè, bears witness to a nice anecdote...

On the day of the opening of the Theater to the public, Verdi and Strepponi were at the Terme di Tabiano and, to pay homage to the absent Maestro, people of Busseto decided to place that marble bust inside the box that the Municipality had reserved for Verdi for the evening. There he remained, on his behalf, for the entire inaugural season!