L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano MARIELLA RADAELLI M aestro Giuseppe V e r d i w a s n o t just an Italian. He was the Ital- ian. The great composer of La Traviata, Macbeth, Otello and other unassailable masterpieces died at the Grand Hotel et de Milan on January 27, 1901 at a g e 8 6 . H e h a s r e m a i n e d a national treasure ever since – Italy's most archetypal opera composer, an instantly recog- nizable, white-haired icon. Across their disparate sub- jects, what unites Verdi's works is his quintessential Italianness. "As an artist, Verdi always n a r r a t e d t h e I t a l i a n s , " s a y s Alberto Mattioli, Opera critic and author of the book Meno Grigi più Verdi. "He represent- ed them, holding them account- able without illusions and self- delusions." Verdi was curiously and inti- mately Italian. He lived as an Italian, he ate as an Italian. Food was something to have proper respect for. Not only was each meal a pleasure, but also, an occasion of conviviality wherev- er he was. In a letter dated 1889, libret- tist Giuseppe Giacosa, a habitué guest at Verdi's villa in Sant'A- gata on the plains of Emilia Romagna, writes that "the mae- stro likes sitting down at the table, but most of all he loves to see shiny people around him, the clever and sincere jocundity of his guests that accompanies and follows exquisite meals. The Sant'Agata cuisine deserves the honor of being on stage – its greatness is so picturesque and its appearance so varied – as if it were coming from some Pan- tagruelian alchemy workshop," added Giacosa. Verdi always dressed for din- ner and wore black, even when he had no guests. Born in Le Roncole in 1813, he lived in the nearby town Bus- seto from 1824. He grew up in the territory home to the famous p r o s c i u t t o c r u d o d i P a r m a , parmesan cheese and the prized, u l t r a - l e a n c u l a t e l l o h a m s o f Zibello, where handmade tagli- atelle with those silky slices of culatello are unforgettable. All of this is self-fulfilling. T h e m u s i c a l g e n i u s w a s inevitably a gourmet. "For their Russian trip in 1862, he and his second wife Giuseppina Strepponi, a sopra- n o , m a n a g e d t o t a k e r i c e , p a r m e s a n , c u l a t e l l o , m a c - c h e r o n i , c u r e d m e a t s w i t h them," says Mattioli. A f t e r t h e p r e m i e r e o f  U n ballo in Maschera, Verdi insist- ed to friends that he had retired – but he couldn't refuse a com- mission from the Imperial The- atre in St Petersburg, La Forza del Destino (1862). As the date of the Maestro's first trip to Saint Petersburg approached, his wife wrote the s e c r e t a r y o f d i s t i n g u i s h e d tragediènne Adelaide Ristori w h o w a s w o r k i n g i n R u s s i a about the necessity to get "fresh, perfect tagliatelle to keep Verdi in good mood while the weather outside is brutal." "Verdi's cuisine was local. He loved traditional dishes such as the risottos, the boiled meat and beef stews," says Mattioli. H e w a s a g a s t r o n o m e o f Emilian-Lombard cuisine. As a meat lover, his favorite savory taste was contained in the spalla cotta di San Secondo (cured pork shoulder from San Secondo, in the Parma region) t h a t h e s a i d n e e d e d t o c o o k slowly for three to four hours. The maestro craved that comfort food.  He once sent a pork shoul- der to his publisher and another t o T e r e s a S t o l z , h i s f a v o r i t e soprano, the first to sing the title role of Aida. Wherever he stayed to com- pose and perform, he was in the habit of organizing his itinerant kitchen as a foodie paradise. Gianmaria Aliverta, an opera director based in Milan, who a l s o h a s g a s t r o n o m y i n h i s b l o o d , i s m a k i n g a s e r i e s o f videos on Verdi's eating habits for a total of 100 step-by- step recipes beloved by the maestro. "Under the guise of showing how he ate, I would like people to discover the richness of Lom- bard-Emilian cuisine." The maestro's ardent interest in food also peeps out in letters. Always in search of excellent cooks, his letter to publisher Tito Ricordi, dated March 1875 sent from Genova, asks for help in finding a "capable" cook.  "I will fire the one I just hired due to his ineptitude," he wrote. "Generally, cooks are not to be trusted. They all call themselves 'great cooks' but from my expe- rience they are only bad 'brucia- pentole'," or those who burn pans constantly. "I would like to have an hon- est, capable, very capable cook," he wrote 12 years later. "I want a good cook who also has a good h e a r t . I d o n ' t w a n t a ' f a n - farone'," slang for a braggart. "He not only cast his singers, but also, his cooks in order to find one with the X factor," says Gianmaria. He enjoyed prepar- i n g t h e r i s o t t o g i a l l o a l l a milanese. In September 1869, h i s w i f e s h a r e d w i t h F r e n c h impresario Camille du Locle the authentic recipe used by the maestro. H i s l a s t c o o k , E r m e l i n d a Berni, collected his best-loved d i s h e s s u c h a s s a u s a g e w i t h stewed potatoes, stracotto alla piacentina, his own version of tortelli di zucca and torta fritta, that salty, squidgy fried dough, t o b e d r a p e d w i t h s a l u m i o r munched with cheese. Most of a l l , t h e y w e r e n o r t h I t a l i a n recipes that call for unsalted but- ter rather than olive oil. He satisfied his sweet tooth with candies and torrone he per- sonally bought at Sperlari in Cremona. All year-round, he craved the panettone made by Cova, an elegant cafeteria at via Montenapoleone, Milan. And Cova panettone arrived as a gift from his publisher every Christ- mas, as regular as a clockwork. Verdi with some friends in Montecatini Alta, at the Locanda Maggiore. From left to right, sitting: Giuseppina Pasqua, Professor Grocco, Teresa Stoltz, Verdi himself, Leopoldo Mugnone, Mrs Mugnone. Standing, from left to right: Beppi- no, Verdi's butler, and Astorre Giacomelli.i © Ricordi & C. S.r.l. Milano www.archivioricordi.com Verdi's own service staff, who worked for him at Villa Sant'Agata during the last years of his life,The first man sitting on the right is Alessandro Machiavelli, Verdi's gardener @Archivio Storico Ricordi © Ricordi & C. S.r.l. Milano www.archiviori- cordi.com HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE Opera genius Giuseppe Verdi, food and his lifelong quest for the perfect chef

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