Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer who wrote some of the most beloved operas in history, including Aida, Rigoletto, and La Traviata. His melodies were so catchy and moving that people across Italy sang them in the streets, and he became a national hero in his own lifetime — his name was even used as a secret political rallying cry, "Viva VERDI," standing for "Viva Vittorio Emanuele Re D'Italia" during the fight for Italian unification. He kept composing masterpieces into old age, finishing his final opera when he was nearly 80.