The Operas of Verdi (Volume 2) From Il Trovatore to La Forza del destino

About this book

The three volumes of studies of Verdis operas by Julian Budden are rightly classics of the genre. This is owing to their scope of information on the genesis circumstances variants and specifics of the operas themselves--certainly the fullest description these works have ever been given--as well as to the wealth of surrounding information about the composer his life his friends and his times. It is a measure of the excellence of Buddens achievement that this cornucopia of information is surveyed in very readable prose--readers get a picture of each work within its context. Buddens knowledge of 19th-century opera--both in Italy and in France--is wide-ranging and he is able to place Verdi and his works in comparison with those of Donizetti Pacini Mercadante and Meyerbeer. He discusses how the great operatic genius emerged from the background of early-19th-century opera and how Verdis own early uneven works blossomed into the glory of his later ones. Budden thankfully is not a hagiographer and he recognizes Verdis faults as well as his strengths but few--if any--writers have managed to demonstrate how Verdi both blended in with his musical surroundings and stood out from them. These studies with all their richness are a good source of information about a host of lesser composers of the time. Budden includes many musical examples to highlight his writing in this a work of scholarship of the highest order. --Patrick J. Smith