Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner

This week I was on a trip to Rome. When I was there I also visited the Vatican City where I bought my first Vatican stamp sets.

One stamp set was this:

200th birthday of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner (issued 30-08-2013)

Giuseppe Verdi was born in 1813 and died in 1901. He was an Italian composer famous for his operas like La traviata and Aida. He opened also the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, a retirement house for musicians in Milan.

Richard Wagner was born in 1813 and died in 1873. He was one of the most famous German composers and he made the opera to a Gesamtkunstwerk while writing text, music and stage direction.