During the middle phase of his career, 1849-59, Verdi adopted new compositional procedures to create some of his best-loved and most-performed works. Focusing on the operas he composed during this period, this volume explores Verdi's work from three interlinked perspectives: studies of the original source material, cross-disciplinary analyses of musical and textual issues, and the relationship of performance practice to Verdi's musical and dramatic conception. In addition to offering new insights into such staples as Il trovatore, La traviata, and Un ballo in...
During the middle phase of his career, 1849-59, Verdi adopted new compositional procedures to create some of his best-loved and most-performed works. ...
The performance history of "Stiffelio" as Verdi envisioned it began only in 1993. Composed with "Rigoletto, " and sharing many of its characteristics, "Stiffelio" suffered from the censors' strictures. From its premiere in 1850, its text was diluted to appease the authorities, making a mockery of the action and Verdi's carefully calibrated music. The story of Stiffelio, a protestant minister who eventually divorces his adulterous wife but forgives her from the pulpit in the final scene, shocked conservative Italian religious and political powers. The libretto was rewritten for subsequent...
The performance history of "Stiffelio" as Verdi envisioned it began only in 1993. Composed with "Rigoletto, " and sharing many of its characteristics,...
