Two questions remain: How much of a change has the Verdi Renaissance of the twentieth century's second half made in Verdi's position in our operatic world? And how much of that change is likely to be permanent? At least for the United States, a rough answer to the first must be: a sizable rise in esteem and performance. And to the second, though more speculatively: at least for the next half century, much of that rise will be permanent.

Before sharpening the argument, however, note the sand on which the thesis builds. Roughly speaking, since Puccini's death in 1926, no composer in any language has caught the public's fancy to the extent of ten operas produced with some regularity. Benjamin Britten has come closest, with perhaps three or four; Richard Strauss, post-1926, added several to his earlier success; and a few other composers such as Berg, Poulenc, and Prokofiev have also contributed one or two to the general repertory. And hence, to some extent because the repertory seems momentarily stuck, impresarios, singers, and audiences have turned to composers of the past, to Verdi, and more recently, to Handel. But let a new composer of genius comparable to Verdi or Handel appear, and in the United States especially if he or she should compose to English librettos, the repertory of a hundred or so operas frequently performed would soon adjust, shrinking old reputations to make way for the new.

Nevertheless, even then I suspect that Verdi will stand high in the general repertory with ten or more of his operas continually or periodically revived— and because of the Verdi Renaissance. The scholarly work that has been done on him in the past half-century, the recordings and DVDs that have made his previously unheard works available to the public, and the success onstage here and there of even the hitherto most ignored of his operas suggest the breadth of his appeal to the public. And the scholarly work and the recordings will last and be available to coming generations and audiences.