_-_Archivio_storico_Ricordi_FOTO003107_-_Restoration.jpg)
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the help of a local patron. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera scene after the era of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, and Gaetano Donizetti, whose works significantly influenced him. This group portrait, taken at Villa Verdi, his residence in Sant'Agata near Busseto in 1900, shows Verdi (seated in the middle) with various family and friends. His companion Teresa Stolz stands at the left, Giulio Ricordi is second from the right, and Verdi's adopted daughter, Maria Carrara, is seated at the far left. Also in the photograph is the painter Leopoldo Metlicovitz, standing on the far right.Photograph credit: Giulio Rossi; restored by Adam Cuerden