He was born in Roncola, Italy, in 1813. He began music lessons at the age of four, and at ten he moved with his family to Busseto, where he continued his musical studies. With a scholarship, he went to Milan, where he studied composition with Vincenzo Lavigna. His first opera Oberto (La Scala, Milan, 1839), was successful, followed by Un giorno di regno (1840). Two years later, he composed Nabucco (La Scala, Milan, 1842), which received highly enthusiastic reviews. In the following years, he composed some of his most popular operas, including Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), La traviata (1853), Un ballo in maschera (1859), La forza del destino (1862), Aida (1871) and Otello (1887). At the same time, he developed significant political activity. In 1861, he was elected to the first Italian Parliament, supporting the unification of Italy, and in 1874 he was appointed to the Italian Senate. In 1893, at the age of eighty, he composed his final work, the opera Falstaff. In total, he wrote twenty-six operas, as well as sacred music (with the Requiem as his most important work), a String Quartet in E minor, and the choral work Quattro pezzi sacri. Through his compositions, he expressed the spirit of mature Romanticism and highlighted the struggles of people for freedom and social unity. He died in Milan in 1901. // Last update of the biography: February 2026. The list of productions below is continually updated.