The Verdi Companion

Text from Front Flap of First Norton Edition "In opera houses throughout the world, Verdi's works are performed more often than those of any other single composer. New productions proliferate, new editions are in preparation, and scholars are addressing themselves to the study of his life and work as never before. It was in this enthusiastic climate that The Verdi Companion was born. The editors have brought together a distinguished group of experts to examine Vferdi's canon from various points of view. Sir Isaiah Berlin speaks of Verdi's humanism; Rodolfo Celletti discusses the qualities of his vocal writing; Julian Budden places the early works in the musical context of their time; while George Martin examines the composer's career in the light of historical events in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. Designed for the layman as well as the serious musician, the volume also contains a detailed chronology of Verdi 's life, a biographical glossary of people associated with him, and an annotated bibliography by Andrew Porter. A pictorial essay on Verdi in Milan has been prepared by Giarnpiero Tintori, director of the Scala Museum. William Weaver's Verdi: A Documentary Study was published recently to unanimous critical acclaim. He is a frequent guest on the Saturday-afternoon Metropolitan Opera broadcasts. Martin Chusid, professor of music at New York University and director of the American Institute for Verdi Studies, is the author of many books and articles on nineteenth-century subjects."