Il trovatore (The Troubadour): English National Opera Guide 20

by Giuseppe Verdi, Nicholas John (Editor)

Overview

English National Opera Guides are ideal companions to the opera. They provide stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text of each opera in English and the original. "If I were not afraid of being called Utopian, I should be tempted to say that to reach perfection in a musical work a single mind should create the verses and the music"—not Wagner, but Cammarano to Verdi as he worked on the libretto of Il Trovatore. Marcello Conati of the Institute for Verdi Studies points out that, although audiences have always adored it, critics are only now coming to see that it represents a step forward, and by no means a step back, from the revolutionary drama of Rigoletto, completed a year before. Professor D.R.B. Kimbell, an expert on Verdi's music, clarifies the story and takes us through the score, while Professor Donald Shaw examines the unusual symbolism of the Spanish Romantic movement. Il Trovatore may cry out to be approached just as a theatrical experience, but these essays give brief and valuable insights into the type of drama it is, and the way it works.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780714544212
Publisher:	Oneworld Classics
Publication date:	02/01/2011
Pages:	84
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) is one of Italy's most celebrated opera composers. His best-known operas include Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, and Aida.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vi

'Higher than the highest' Marcello Conati 7

'Il Trovatore': Music and Drama D.R.B. Kimbell 15

Antonio Garcia Gutiérrez's 'El trovador' Donald Shaw 29

Thematic Guide 35

'Il Trovatore': libretto Salvatore Cammarano English translation Tom Hammond 41

Part 1 The Duel 43

Part 2 The Gipsy 51

Part 3 The Gipsy's Son 61

Part 4 The Torture 68

Discography 78

Bibliography 80

Contributors 80

Editorial Reviews

Brilliantly produced and superb value.”  —The Sunday Times

"All these will provide the new opera-goer with food for thought."  —Daily Telegraph

"Wholehearted recommendation of this valuable new series."  —TLS

From the Publisher