What do you think?
Rate this book
The Operas of Verdi #1
The Operas of Verdi: Volume 1: From Oberto to Rigoletto
Marked by extraordinary research and enhanced by hundreds of musical illustrations, this monumental study follows the development of Verdi's oeuvre from his earliest opera Oberto to his final work, Falstaff . In writing the first edition of this classic work--which appeared to great acclaim in 1973--Julian Budden mined the vast resources of European archives to provide a groundbreaking interpretation of Verdi's work, and along the way discovered much new material, including an unpublished additional aria for I Due Foscari . Now available in a revised edition, The Operas of Verdi is now brought up to date in light of the most recent scholarship, making it more useful and entertaining than ever.
Volume 1 traces the organic growth and development of the composer's style from 1839 to 1851--from Oberto to Rigoletto --and examines each opera in detail, offering a full account of its dramatic and historical origins as well as a brief critical evaluation. More than 350 musical examples make the significance of these early operas to Verdi's developing style especially clear.
In the second volume, Budden covers those operas written during the decadence of the post-Rossini period. During this time Verdi, having exhausted the simple lyricism found in such works as Il Trovatore and La Traviata , found new life as he directly confronted the masters of the Paris opera with his Les Vêpres Siciliennes . The new scale and variety of musical thought that can be sensed in the Italian operas which followed is shown here to culminate in La Forza del Destino .
The third and final volume of the study covers the quarter century which saw grand opera on the Parisian model established throughout Italy, and the spread of cosmopolitan influences that convinced many that Italian music was losing its identity. Verdi produced his four last and greatest operas during this time-- Don Carlos, Aida, Otello , and Falstaff --operas which helped inaugurate "versimo," in which a new, recognizably Italian idiom was realized.
These three volumes cover every aspect of Verdi's rich and varied operatic achievement. Every lover of opera in particular and music in general will want a set in their library.
Volume 1 traces the organic growth and development of the composer's style from 1839 to 1851--from Oberto to Rigoletto --and examines each opera in detail, offering a full account of its dramatic and historical origins as well as a brief critical evaluation. More than 350 musical examples make the significance of these early operas to Verdi's developing style especially clear.
In the second volume, Budden covers those operas written during the decadence of the post-Rossini period. During this time Verdi, having exhausted the simple lyricism found in such works as Il Trovatore and La Traviata , found new life as he directly confronted the masters of the Paris opera with his Les Vêpres Siciliennes . The new scale and variety of musical thought that can be sensed in the Italian operas which followed is shown here to culminate in La Forza del Destino .
The third and final volume of the study covers the quarter century which saw grand opera on the Parisian model established throughout Italy, and the spread of cosmopolitan influences that convinced many that Italian music was losing its identity. Verdi produced his four last and greatest operas during this time-- Don Carlos, Aida, Otello , and Falstaff --operas which helped inaugurate "versimo," in which a new, recognizably Italian idiom was realized.
These three volumes cover every aspect of Verdi's rich and varied operatic achievement. Every lover of opera in particular and music in general will want a set in their library.
538 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Julian Budden
21 books2 followersJulian Medforth Budden, BA, BMus, was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volumes on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi, a single volume biography in 1982 and a single volume work on Giacomo Puccini and his operas in 2002.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 18, 2008
This study has been a major part of my appreciation of Verdi, and I got re-acquainted with it this past week to prepare for seeing ERNANI for the first time at the Met.
The ERNANI chapter prepared me perfectly for watching the opera this evening, plus the chapters on characteristics of Verdi's early operas and the conventions of early 19th century Italian opera really helped me (on my very first listen) recognize both Verdi's acceptance of tradition (which I have a hard time admiring) and how he bends convention to a totally individual approach. ERNANI is an opera I would normally hate for being so convention-bound (and in a production that is grotesquely old-fashioned), but I found myself totally engaged in the performance, and I'm sure the preparation this book gave me accounts for a good 75% of the reason why. I re-read passages on the subway ride home and had yet another level of appreciation for Budden's achievement in this chapter alone.
It's been told to me, so know I'll tell others: this book is a must.
The ERNANI chapter prepared me perfectly for watching the opera this evening, plus the chapters on characteristics of Verdi's early operas and the conventions of early 19th century Italian opera really helped me (on my very first listen) recognize both Verdi's acceptance of tradition (which I have a hard time admiring) and how he bends convention to a totally individual approach. ERNANI is an opera I would normally hate for being so convention-bound (and in a production that is grotesquely old-fashioned), but I found myself totally engaged in the performance, and I'm sure the preparation this book gave me accounts for a good 75% of the reason why. I re-read passages on the subway ride home and had yet another level of appreciation for Budden's achievement in this chapter alone.
It's been told to me, so know I'll tell others: this book is a must.
November 12, 2012
Questa raccolta i volumi è davvero interessante e completa per chi ama semplicemnte Verdi, ma anche per chi volesse appronfondire la storia delle sue opere, ma anche valutare la trama e prendere in esame i punti salienti delle sue opere attraverso l'analisi della partitura.
Un lavoro accurato e davvero ben fatto, si legge anche piacevolmente.
Un lavoro accurato e davvero ben fatto, si legge anche piacevolmente.
August 16, 2019
I’m studying Verdi’s operas chronologically, and this is the perfect guide. Bravo!
June 19, 2022
Budden is one of those people who know so much about a subject that you can only stand back and marvel. Now, if I knew a little bit more about this subject -- opera -- I might not be so struck, but I know just enough to appreciate the magnitude of his accomplishment. There's probably not another book on Verdi that you really need, and so far I haven't found one that is so well written. It's serious and enlightening and entertaining all at the same time. Budden is not a Verdi worshipper, at least not unreservedly. The operas in this volume span the "galley years" during which Verdi was honing his craft. He was working professionally, but he wasn't the master he would become later on. Budden lets us know in which ways Verdi tends to follow musical trends thoughtlessly, albeit intentionally, which young artists tend to do. And that's where biography comes in, so we get a little of that too.
I've been watching all of Verdi's operas in the Teatro Regio di Parma productions released as "Tutto Verdi: the Complete Operas" and reading Budden's commentary on each one. They help me hear things I would have missed after a first listen, and they're enriching my experience, even occasionally provoking a smile. Budden is never mean exactly, but he has a rather biting sense of humor. It's hard to write this engagingly on a technical subject without completely dumbing it down, but somehow he manages it.
I've been watching all of Verdi's operas in the Teatro Regio di Parma productions released as "Tutto Verdi: the Complete Operas" and reading Budden's commentary on each one. They help me hear things I would have missed after a first listen, and they're enriching my experience, even occasionally provoking a smile. Budden is never mean exactly, but he has a rather biting sense of humor. It's hard to write this engagingly on a technical subject without completely dumbing it down, but somehow he manages it.
August 28, 2024
A graduate course on the early operas of Verdi. In-depth musical analysis, historical perspective, plot summaries for pages, footnotes by the dozen. Incredible. Two volumes yet to read.
May 11, 2026
This and its two companion volumes are the finest work of scholarship I've ever read across many disciplines.
May 24, 2014
October 10, 2013 will be the bicentennial of Verdi's birth and I have decided to listen to all his operas in chronological order, reading Budden's chapter on each as an introduction before listening. There seems to be a lot of technical music theory which I might skim. Since I already know a good 20 of Verdi's operas by heart, it will be a good introduction to the more obscure ones like Il Corsaro or I Due Foscari. Review to follow when I get to Rigoletto!
Update 5/24/14. My ambitious plan described above did not take place. The theoretical analyses of the operas proved beyond my basic understanding. What is a Neapolitan sixth, anyway.
The layout of each chapter is:
1- A historical analysis of events leading up to the production of the work under review
2- A detailed plot analysis coupled with very detailed theoretical analysis of the works
3- Discussion of subsequent revisions of the works and a final critical assessment.
I found that spending too much time on #2 was not buying me much, so I let myself off the hook and allows myself to skim this section unless it was a work that I knew really well (e.g. Macbeth, Nabucco, etc)I am sure that the analyses of the later operas in the next two volumes will be more accessible to me since I know the music so well. For someone with a solid grounding in music theory I bet these sections would be invaluable.
Budden does betray a bitchiness that a lot of English critics seem to employ. He has an obsession with hating anything to do with the 'banda' - the on-stage orchestra that was very popular in earth 19th Century Italian opera. He literally foams at the mouth whenever one appears in the opera under discussion. I find it funny.
Reading this in tandem with the Matz Verdi is proving to be a project worthy of the genius of Verdi
Update 5/24/14. My ambitious plan described above did not take place. The theoretical analyses of the operas proved beyond my basic understanding. What is a Neapolitan sixth, anyway.
The layout of each chapter is:
1- A historical analysis of events leading up to the production of the work under review
2- A detailed plot analysis coupled with very detailed theoretical analysis of the works
3- Discussion of subsequent revisions of the works and a final critical assessment.
I found that spending too much time on #2 was not buying me much, so I let myself off the hook and allows myself to skim this section unless it was a work that I knew really well (e.g. Macbeth, Nabucco, etc)I am sure that the analyses of the later operas in the next two volumes will be more accessible to me since I know the music so well. For someone with a solid grounding in music theory I bet these sections would be invaluable.
Budden does betray a bitchiness that a lot of English critics seem to employ. He has an obsession with hating anything to do with the 'banda' - the on-stage orchestra that was very popular in earth 19th Century Italian opera. He literally foams at the mouth whenever one appears in the opera under discussion. I find it funny.
Reading this in tandem with the Matz Verdi is proving to be a project worthy of the genius of Verdi
February 7, 2023
Imprescindibile per chiunque ami Verdi e, in generale, l'opera lirica e la sua storia.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews