| Contents |
CD track listing: "Surta áe la notte ... Ernani, Ernani, involami" / Rosa Ponselle, Rosario Bourdon conductor -- "Vieni meco" / Mattia Battistini, Emilia Corsi ; La Scala orchestra, Carlo Sabajno, conductor -- "Oh! Fede negar potessi ... quando le sere al placido" / Mario Del Monaco ; Orchestra of Santa Cecilia, Rome, Alberto Erede, conductor -- "Comme la plume au vent" / Edmond Clâement -- "Bella figlia dell'amore" / Enrico Caruso, Luisa Tetrazzini, Josephine Jacoby, Pasquale Amato ; Victor Orchestra, Walter B. Rogers, conductor -- "Se m'ami ancor ... Ai nostri monti" / Enrico Caruso, Ernestine Schumann-Heink ; Victor Orchestra, Gaetano Scognamiglio, conductor -- "Ah, fors' áe lui ... Sempre libera" / Luisa Tetrazzini ; Victor Orchestra, Josef A. Pasternack, conductor -- "Teneste la promessa ... Addio del passato" / Claudia Muzio ; Lorenzo Molajoi, conductor -- "Ma dal'arido stelo" / Claudia Musio -- "Saper vorreste" / Luisa Tetrazzini ; Victor Orchestra, Josef A. Pasternack conductor -- "Pace, pace, mio Dio" / Rosa Ponselle ; Rosario Bourdon, conductor -- "A te, l'estremo addio ... Il lacerato spiroto" / Boris Christoff ; Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Vittorio Gui, conductor -- "Tu, che le vanitáa" / Meta Seinemeyer ; Berlin State Opera Orchestra, Frieder Weissmann, conductor -- "O patria mia" / Claudia Muzio -- "Esultate! ... Vittoria ... Ebben, Roderigo, che pensi?" / Giovanni Martinelli, Lawrence Tibbett, Giovanni Paltrinieri ; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Ettore Panizza, conductor -- "Credo" / Lawrence Tibbett ; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Ettore Panizza, conductor -- "Piangea cantando" / Rosa Ponselle ; Rosario Bourdon, conductor -- "L'onore!" / Mariano Stabile ; La Scala Orchestra, Victor de Sabata, conductor -- "Quander'ero paggio" / Giacomo Rimini, Pia Tassinari ; La Scala Orchestra, Lorenzo Molajoli, conductor. |
| Abstract |
Giuseppe Verdi's career forms one of the loveliest arcs in musical history. The passion of his works resonates universally, while the sophistication of his middle and late operas satisfies demanding ears and tastes. This book surveys every one of the master's 28 operas and his greatest choral pieces, showing Verdi's growth as a musical dramatist--he would revolutionize the hidebound conventions of 19th-century Italian opera--and his single-minded pursuit of dramatic truth. After describing the chaotic milieu in which Verdi learned his craft, the book provides act-by-act analyses of the early masterpieces Nabucco, Ernani, and Macbeth. The neglected operas from the composer's self-described "years in the galleys" are covered together. The author then takes readers through the magnificent sequence of Verdi operas from Luisa Miller onward, including the fine but underrated Stiffelio. Each of the late operas--Don Carlo, Aida, and Otello and Falstaff, the twin Shakespearean masterworks that crown Verdi's oeuvre--is discussed at length in its own chapter. The author also examines Verdi's monumental Requiem along with the choral Quattro pezzi sacri, Verdi's sublime final achievement. The book comes with a Naxos CD of musical selections representing highlights from throughout Verdi's long, remarkable career. |
