Verdi lovers around New York City will join forces on Friday, Oct. 10, with a public celebration at Verdi Square, located at Broadway and 73rd Street.

Admirers of the legendary composer are invited to gather at 10:15 a.m., with the ceremony beginning promptly at 10:30 a.m. The event is free and open to all.

The commemoration offers a chance to reflect on Verdi’s extraordinary contribution to opera and his continued relevance in today’s cultural landscape. Speakers will explore the enduring power of Verdi’s music, demonstrating why his works remain a “mighty force for continuing good.”

A highlight of the event will be the communal performance of Verdi’s iconic hymn to freedom, “Va, pensiero,” sung by attendees before 27 red roses—one representing each of Verdi’s operas—are placed at the base of his statue.

The event was initiated by August Ventura in April 2016, inspired by a ritual already done by Parma’s Club dei 27, “who bring 27 red roses to Verdi’s birthplace in the small town of Roncole. Each rose represents one of Verdi’s operas, including the Requiem Mass.”

“They squeeze into the bedroom where Verdi was born, the roses are set on the bed, and then the Club President speaks a few well-chosen words before all gathered sing ‘Va pensiero,’ that great anthem of collective hope-through-suffering ‘Nabucco,’” Ventura told OperaWire.

He continued the project in 2018 and again in 2024.

“We had a wonderful turnout of appassionati, and speakers like Cori Ellison and Dr. Nassrin Iromloo of the UN who shared spontaneous but heartfelt words,” he told OperaWire. “Last year the subjects of immigration and human displacement were unofficial themes, which of course are prevalent in Verdi’s operas.  While there is no ‘set’ theme to each edition, I imagine Freedom of Speech and censorship will be on people’s minds and here, too, Verdi looms large when one thinks of how those operas of Verdi’s ‘galley years’ were written under such oppressive circumstances imposed by the Austrian authorities, yet still managed to convey a revolutionary message of freedom and self-determination for the Italian people.”

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