Verdi’s Aida
Verdi’s Aida: The History of an Opera in Letters and Documents
Collected and translated by HANS BUSCH
Copyright Date: 1978
Edition: NED - New edition
Published by: University of Minnesota Press
Pages: 744
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.cttts4k6
Search for reviews of this book
Book Info
Verdi’s Aida
Book Description:

"This is a detailed account of the creation and production of the opera Aida as revealed in he letters and documents of the composer Guiseppe Verdi and his associates. Aida was given its European premiere at La Scala in 1872, and the correspondence concerning its extends from 1868 to 1891. The letters and documents record a drama set against a background of politics and backstage intrigues, revolving around Verdi with five other major personalities as principal actors: August Mariette, Camielle Du Locle, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Paul Draneht, and Giulio Ricordi."

eISBN: 978-0-8166-6173-2
Subjects: Performing Arts
You do not have access to this book on JSTOR. Try logging in through your institution for access.
Log in to your personal account or through your institution.
Table of Contents
Export Selected Citations Export to NoodleTools Export to RefWorks Export to EasyBib Export a RIS file (For EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager, Zotero, Mendeley...) Export a Text file (For BibTex)
Select / Unselect all
  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-vi)
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. vii-viii)
  3. PREFACE
    PREFACE (pp. ix-xx)
    Hans Busch
  4. PERMISSIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    PERMISSIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (pp. xxi-xxii)
  5. EDITORIAL NOTES
    EDITORIAL NOTES (pp. xxiii-xxvi)
  6. ABBREVIATIONS
    ABBREVIATIONS (pp. xxvii-xxx)
  7. LIST OF THE LETTERS
    LIST OF THE LETTERS (pp. xxxi-l)
  8. INTRODUCTION
    INTRODUCTION (pp. li-lvi)

    “This opera is certainly not one of my worst,” Verdi wrote² with admirable modesty following the European premiere ofAidaat La Scala in 1872. A hundred years later this noble work is still one of Verdi’s greatest gifts to all whose lives are enriched by his art.

    Thomas Mann observed that some humans have an instinctive sense of their own longevity and, therefore, take more time for their achievements than their less fortunate fellows. Certainly Verdi took a remarkably long time to achieve artistic maturity. His early works are permeated with the characteristics of the so-called bel canto opera...

  9. LETTERS
    LETTERS (pp. 3-430)

    Genoa, 19 February 1868

    Dear Du Locle,

    I am very glad to have just received your letter from Thebes and to know that you are safe and sound and pleased with your voyage. I am writing to you immediately in Paris so that if you arrive on the 20th, as you say you will, this letter of mine may be among the first to reach you; let me cordially take your hand and tell you welcome home. When we see each other, you must describe all the events of your voyage, the wonders you have seen, and the beauty and...

  10. DOCUMENTS
    DOCUMENTS (pp. 431-624)

    Even if we can accept some of Edouard Mariette’s story only with great reservations, it does seem to suggest that, despite striking similarities,Aidais not related to Pietro Metastasio’s dramaNittetior to any of its offspring, as suspected by Mary Jane Matz and assumed by Charles Osborne (Mary Jane Matz, “An ancestor for Aida,”Opera News, 1955, 20, no. 8, pp. 4–7, 26–28, and Charles Osborne,The Complete Operas of Verdi[New York: Knopf, 1970], pp. 377–82). Matz and Osborne seem to base their theory on a hypothesis formulated by Matteo Glinski in the review...

  11. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
    BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES (pp. 627-656)
  12. A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF VERDI’S LIFE AND WORKS
    A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF VERDI’S LIFE AND WORKS (pp. 659-662)
  13. A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
    A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY (pp. 665-672)
  14. INDEX TO THE LETTERS
    INDEX TO THE LETTERS (pp. 675-685)
  15. ADDENDA AND ERRATA
    ADDENDA AND ERRATA (pp. 686-688)
    H.B.
University of Minnesota Press logo