‘Viva Verdi!’ Review – Documentary Shows Music Is Good For Body And Soul

Case Verdi is unlike any other retirement home. The best way to describe it is a living museum and a home to older musicians. Casa Verdi, which translates to “rest home for museums,” is a place of nurture and artistry for those who have dedicated their lives to the performing arts, such as opera. In the documentary Viva Verdi! (which is nominated at this year’s Oscars for Best Original Song), we are invited to a home where several artists enter their third act while embracing their craft and mentoring the next generation. The film is a cozy and inspiring portrait and reminder that age is just a number.

Viva Verdi! is an excellent history lesson as well as a poignant story of humanity. Beginning with the historical aspect, for someone unfamiliar with Casa Verdi or the composer Giuseppe Verdi, the film is a fascinating presentation that weaves the work of this philanthropic artist, who sought to give back to those in the craft. In an act of incredible generosity, Verdi willed his fortune to build the home in Milan where it stands today. Sparing no expense and a man of detail, Verdi oversaw every aspect of the project’s construction, stone by stone.

At the time of the mansion’s construction, there were no pensions for artists, and many left impoverished and unsure how to face their advancing years. The home allows those artists, then and now, to live out their ‘third act’ with dignity, while embracing their life’s calling and purpose. To live there, there is but one requirement: “exercise the art of music as a profession.”

Verdi is a celebrated composer whose works, such as La Traviata and Rigoletto, are performed to the present day. Yet it is revealing that, for all his accomplishments and musical genius, when asked to name his favorite opera, Verdi called his most beautiful work “the retirement home for musicians.” He was an artist and a humanitarian, a reminder that the two are not mutually exclusive.

Now, as for Casa Verdi, the home is alive. Music is not a pastime; it is a lifestyle. Songs and performances sweep through the halls, and many of the residents are tutoring the next generation of artists. It becomes a wonderful marriage of the past and present, and captures the forever-young spirit of the residents who love what they consider not professions, but gifts.

The house is living history, and the residents are living monuments. Celebrating their craft and passing on their lessons with zest and purpose. Though their hair may be gray, and their steps slower, once in the proverbial spotlight, or answering the clarion call of the piano, all the years disappear. It is inspiring and a reminder to us all that you are as old as you feel.

Too often, the term’ retirement home’ carries a negative connotation. Older people are looked at with pity and held with sympathetic smiles. That is not the case at Casa Verdi. Granted, this is a home tailored to a specific group, but the message is universal. If there is passion, then there is no barrier to entry. If anything, watching the residents reclaim their purpose and rediscover their youth warrants a mighty cheer and thunderous applause.

Passion does not have an expiration date. Even as we see the effects of age on these residents, we also see those on walkers and in wheelchairs. The cliché images of a retirement or nursing home may apply, but what sets Casa Verdi apart is not only the specialty of its residents but also the embodiment of the idea that, even as the body ages, the mind stays young. Director Yvonne Russo brings sincerity and grace to the screen with zest and joy. What joy, and that is what makes this portrait so revealing, is that each of these residents, who are in their twilight years, reminds us that despite their many years, they are forever young.

And that note of joy, the film’s nomination for Best Original Song at the 2026 Academy Awards, is fitting. Sweet Dreams of Joy (Nicholas Pike) is a sonnet to the past and future. It is melancholic, yet cheerful. The song is stirring. It serves as a send-up to the talent and artists who, at the very least, serve as inspiration. Viva Verdi! is a beautiful work (as all great art is) that unspools the threads of humanity and ties them together into a tapestry that celebrates human beauty and joy. Bravo!

Viva Verdi! is currently available to rent on Jolt.