The Complete Operas of Verdi: A Critical Guide

by Charles Osborne

In this volume, every Verdi opera is explored from four points of Verdi's life at the time each was written; the story, and the way it links with the music; the libretto and librettist, and Verdi's relations with his publishers; and the music itself, analyzed with examples from the score.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

490 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Charles Thomas Osborne was a journalist, theatre and opera critic, poet and novelist. He was assistant editor of The London Magazine from 1958 until 1966, literature director of the Arts Council of Great Britain from 1971 until 1986, and chief theatre critic of Daily Telegraph (London) from 1986 to 1991. He is the only author the Agatha Christie Estate has ever allowed to produce adapted works in her name. (wikipedia)

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want one about Verdi's operas, this is your book. But it's not just a run down of the who's and why's, Osborne gives enough context so that even if you haven't watched every single one, you'll understand each one and you'll want to seek them out ASAP. An indispensable book and I look forward to getting more of his work.

[Víctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uno de los libros de consulta de referencia sobre las óperas de Verdi. Ofrece rigor musical e histórico en un estilo ameno. Las obras son analizadas en sendos capítulos con estructura cerrada (contexto y apuntes biográficos, argumento y análisis musical). Sin embargo, su lectura de seguido, obviando la parte central de cada capítulo donde se detalla el argumento del libreto, permite obtener una visión de conjunto del corpus verdiano, ya que Osborne incide en la evolución del estilo del maestro de Busseto, estableciendo relaciones entre unas obras y otras.