Description
In this third edition of the classic Verdi, renowned authority Julian Budden offers a comprehensive overview of Verdi the man and the artist, tracing his ascent from humble beginnings to the status of a cultural patriarch of the new Italy, whose cause he had done much to promote, and demonstrating the gradual enlargement over the years of his artistic vision. This concise study is an accessible, insightful, and engaging summation of Verdi scholarship, acquainting the non-specialist with the personal details Verdi's life, with the operatic world in which he worked, and with his political ideas, his intellectual vision, and his powerful means of communicating them through his music. In his survey of the music itself, Budden emphasizes the unique character of each work as well as the developing sophistication of Verdi's style. He covers all of the operas, the late religious works, the songs, and the string quartet. A glossary explains even the most obscure operatic terms current in Verdi's time.
Table of Contents
IllustrationsKey to SiglaPART I THE LIFE1. Early Life at Busseto2. Success and Failure in Milan3. The Journeyman4. Florence, London and Paris5. Return to Busseto6. Viva V.E.R.D.I.7. The New Order8. The Dark Decade9. Indian Summer10. The Last Years11. Verdi as Man and ArtistPART II THE MUSIC12. The Background13. From Oberto to ErnaniOberto, Conte di San Bonifacio, Un giorno di regno, Nabucco, I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Ernani14. The Prison YearsI due Foscari, Giovanna d'Arco, Alzira, Attila, Macbeth, I masnadieri, Jérusalem, Il corsaro, La battaglia di Legnano, Luisa Miller15. The High NoonStiffelio, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata16. Towards Grand OperaLes vêpres siciliennes, Simon Boccanegra, Aroldo, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Don Carlos, Aida17. The Final MasterpiecesOtello, Falstaff18. Miscellaneous Operatic Compositions19. Chamber Compositions20. Choral and Religious WorksAppendicesA. CalendarB. List of WorksC. PersonaliaD. Select BibliographyE. Glossary of Nineteenth-Century Operatic TermsIndex
