Cesare Vigna (1819–1892)

Excerpt

The year 2013 marks the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of the Italian Romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1902). In his operas neurological and psychiatric disorders (e.g., acute delirium/psychosis in “Nabucco”, madness in “Giovanna d’Arco”, insane jealously in “Otello”, sleepwalking in “Macbeth”) are prominently performed on stage [5]. Probably this has some relation to the personal experience of Verdi, who often suffered from depression during his long life. It is however less known that during these depressive episodes the composer was cared for by his close friend and personal physician Cesare Vigna, who also in other respects deserves to be recalled as an Italian pioneer in the field of neurology, psychiatry and music therapy. …