Verdi: The King of Melody (1953) Reviews

Verdi, the King of Melody, though lensed in color, is an essentially colorless Italian costume picture. Pierre Cressoy stars as famed composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). The film covers Verdi's life from his first opera in 1838 to the last, Falstaff, in 1896, when Verdi was 83. Along the way we are treated to Verdi's amorous exploits, as well as his political activism in lobbying for an independent Italy. And of course we both see and hear snippets from Il Trovatore, La Traviata and Aida (the latter tied in with the opening of Suez canal). All of this is crammed into 80 minutes, giving indication of severe cutting before the film's US release. As a result of its international box-office failure, Verdi, the King of Melody is one of the most obscure of all musical biopics. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi