Giuseppe Verdi was perhaps the most important Italian opera composer of the 19th century. Over five decades, his work developed the art form from the bel canto roots evident in masterpieces like Nabucco, Macbeth, Rigoletto, La traviata and Il trovatore to the full flowering of grand opera in works like Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Don Carlos, Aida, Otello and Falstaff.…