Simon Boccanegra: English National Opera Guide 32

by Giuseppe Verdi, Nicholas John (Editor)

The English National Opera Guides were originally conceived in partnership with the English National Opera and edited by Nicholas John, the ENO's dramaturg, who died tragically in an accident in the Alps. Most of the guides are devoted to a single opera, which is described in detail—with many articles that cover its history and information about the composer and his times. The complete libretto is included in both the original language and in a modern singing translation—except where the opera was written in English. Each has a thematic guide to the most important musical themes in musical notation and each guide is lavishly illustrated. They also contain a bibliography and a discography which is updated at each reprint. The ENO guides are widely regarded as the best series of their kind and excellent value.

Genres: Music

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1984

About the author

Fullest artistic form of operas of Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer, included La Traviata in 1853, Aïda in 1871, and Otello in 1887; people credit him with raising the genre.

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, mainly a Romantic, most influenced the 19th century. Houses frequently perform his works throughout the world, and some themes transcended the boundaries of the genre and long took root in popular culture:
* "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto
* "Va, pensiero" (The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco , and
* "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (The Drinking Song).

Masterworks of Giuseppe Verdi used a generally diatonic rather than a chromatic musical idiom, and people sometimes criticized tendency toward melodrama, which dominates the standard repertoire a century and a half.