RIGOLETTO
Beniamino Trevisi is 93 years old and lives with his wife Edda in a small apartment inside of Verdi’s house. He loves life and is always ready for everything. Edda said: “Beniamino just wakes up, takes my hands and asks “Good morning love, do you have plans for today?” with an enthusiastic energy and I have not really woken up.” I think that this phrase describe him 100% of the time. He uses all of his energy to sing loudly. He is the first tenor that I have ever met. The first time that I met him, he showed me a Verdi postcard that has a phrase written on the back by Giuseppe Verdi’s granddaughter and it’s one of his most important objects to me. Once a week I go to his house, and they offer coffee to me and I spend lots of time with them. I saw a lot of concerts and events inside of the Verdi’s house.
Verdi’s house is a nursing home for ex-musicians, created by Giuseppe Verdi, the teacher, and was completed in 1899. It’s a unique nursing home. Verdi wanted to give musicians the opportunity to live in a place of peace that is rich with music, to give them an opportunity to continue their passion. This is a 19th century style home, with lots to do: there are events, concerts every week made by musicians all over the World. There are events for the ex-musicians that live there: bingo, choir, movies daily, and there’s even an afternoon with Verdi’s cake. Whoever lives in Verdi’s house has access to the saloon, painting room, barber, doctor; it’s almost a small village.
