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The Operas of Verdi #1
The Operas of Verdi: Volume 1: From Oberto to Rigoletto, Revised Edition by Budden, Julian (1984) Paperback
The three volumes of studies of Verdi's 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 Budden's achievement that this cornucopia of information is surveyed in very readable prose--readers get a picture of each work within its context. Budden's 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 Verdi's own early, uneven works blossomed into the glory of his later ones. Budden, thankfully, is not a hagiographer, and he recognizes Verdi's 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
Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
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About the author
Julian Budden
12 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.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 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 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 - 7 of 7 reviews