Operas of Giuseppe Verdi
Abramo Basevi published his study of Verdi's operas in Florence in 1859, in the middle of the composer's career. The first thorough, systematic examination of Verdi's operas, it covered the twenty works produced between 1842 and 1857 – from "Nabucco" and "Macbeth" to "Il trovatore", "La traviata", and "Aroldo". But while Basevi's work is still widely cited and discussed – and nowhere more so than in the English-speaking world – no translation of the entire volume has previously been available".The Operas of Giuseppe Verdi" fills this gap, at the same time providing an invaluable critical apparatus and commentary on Basevi's work.
As a contemporary of Verdi and a trained musician, erudite scholar, and critic conversant with current and past operatic repertories, Basevi presented pointed discussion of the operas and their historical context, offering today's readers a unique window into many aspects of operatic culture, and culture in general, in Verdi's Italy. He wrote with precision on formal aspects, use of melody and orchestration, and other compositional features, which made his study an acknowledged model for the growing field of music criticism. Carefully annotated and with an engaging introduction and detailed glossary by editor Stefano Castelvecchi, this translation illuminates Basevi's musical and historical references as well as aspects of his language that remain difficult to grasp even for Italian readers.
Making Basevi's important contribution to our understanding of Verdi and his operas available to a broad audience for the first time, "The Operas of Giuseppe Verdi" will delight scholars and opera enthusiasts alike.
Contents
Editor's Introduction
Glossary
Editorial Note
Bibliographic Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Preface
1. Nabucodonosor
2. I Lombardi alla prima crociata
3. Ernani
4. I due Foscari
5. Giovanna d'Arco
6. Alzira
7. Attila
8. Macbeth
9. I masnadieri
10. Jerusalem
11. Il corsaro
12. La battaglia di Legnano
13. Luisa Miller
14. Stiffelio
15. Rigoletto
16. Il trovatore
17. La traviata
18. Giovanna de Guzman [Les vepres siciliennes]
19. Simon Boccanegra
20. Aroldo
Conclusion
General Index
About the Author
Stefano Castelvecchi is a lecturer in music at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. He is the editor of critical editions of works by Rossini and Verdi and the author of "Sentimental Opera: Questions of Genre in the Age of Bourgeois Drama".
Edward Schneiderstudied music at Oxford and has translated several books on music and cooking. He was an editor at United Nations Headquarters.
Reviews
"Abramo Basevi's 'The Operas of Giuseppe Verdi' represents an extraordinary testimony to a new and important way of writing music criticism in mid-nineteenth-century Italy, and Basevi's terminology and expressions have served as the foundations for influential analytical methods. This translation is polished, elegant, and eminently accessible to a modern reader. Stefano Castelvecchi provides a strong introduction, wealth of explanatory notes, and glossary that make 'The Operas of Giuseppe Verdi' a thoroughly engaging and vastly informative book and grants access to a fundamental nineteenth-century source for opera students and lovers" – Francesco Izzo, University of Southampton
