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Remembering Bill Allen: Assistant Director: 1970-1982. Director: 1982-1989. Funeral Service for Bill Allen | Bill directing The Lord's Prayer | Bill's songs and albums | Obituary |
Viva Verdi!
Giuseppe Verdi was born on or around October 10, 1813 in the Italian town of Le Roncole. There’s some dispute on the precise birthday, but since my dad’s birthday is October 10 (today) let’s go with that.
Who was Giuseppe Verdi?
“Giuseppe Verdi was born in Italy in 1813, prior to Italian unification. Verdi produced many successful operas, including La Traviata, Falstaff and Aida, and became known for his skill in creating melody and his profound use of theatrical effect. Additionally, his rejection of the traditional Italian opera for integrated scenes and unified acts earned him fame. Verdi died on January 27, 1901, in Milan, Italy.” Source, biography.com
Va Pensiero from Verdi’s Opera Nabucco, or Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves will be familiar to 90’s and 2000’s Glee Clubbers.
Verdi also wrote a song oft-performed by the Glee Club: Spirit Immortal. This song stands out because on PVGCDB, every decade has performed this from 1940 to 2000. Many a Hall of Famer has recorded this as a solo including David Stith (and Jim!), Brian Koning, Chris Clarke, and Brent Wright.
Every rendition I’ve encountered is great. Listed below are what I currently have on tap:
- 1948, soloist unknown (rehearsal recording) Love the rolled R’s! (incidentally the oldest PVGCDB recording)
- 1958, John Engstrom
- 1968, Jim Stith
- 1972, David Stith
- 1986, Brian Koning
- 1993, Brian Breed introduces Spirit Immortal by Clarke
- 1993, Chris Clarke
- 1990s, Brent Wright
- 2000s, Dustin Davis
Here’s hoping future decades continue the tradition!
-Paul
Commentary
I kind of wish I had known about this song back in the day
Joe Martin
on 10/10/2021
Wow. What a tremendous resource. Thanks, Paul, for putting all this together in an accessible format. These memories are a priceless treasure.
David Luhman
on 10/11/2021