Preparation for publication of three volumes of the complete works of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), with editorial work on nine additional volumes. (36 months)

The critical edition of the complete works of Giuseppe Verdi is a joint publication of the University of Chicago Press and Casa Ricordi in Milan, which aims to make available to scholars, students, and performers, reliable editions of Verdi's music that are both faithful to the sources and suitable for performance. The works included in the project are at the core of the nineteenth-century operatic repertory, from Rigoletto, Trovatore, and La traviata, to Un ballo in maschera, Otello and Falstaff. Also included are Verdi's Messa da Requiem and other sacred choral works, as well as lesser known vocal and instrumental works, such as the songs and the string quartet, some of which are not available in other editions. Having completed a successful transition in editorial leadership, the project has laid plans for broader dissemination through digital publication, a new series of study-scores in reduced format, and the creation of a new website hosted by the University of Chicago Press.

Preparation for print publication of a critical edition and score of the opera La trouvère and a collection of early works by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), as well as editorial work on four additional volumes. (36 months)

The Works of Giuseppe Verdi makes available to scholars and performers reliable editions of the music of a major historical figure. It includes operas at the core of the repertory, e.g., Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, Otello, and Falstaff, as well as the Messa da Requiem and other non-operatic works. Seventeen out of thirty-four titles are now in print, with three more appearing in 2019-2022 and a target completion year of 2040. Entirely based on original sources, the edition produces musical scores freed from inauthentic interventions that have become the standard for performance and recording worldwide. It also presents detailed histories of the works—from composition, to early performance, to broader cultural influence up to the present day. Greeted with acclaim since its inception, the edition brings audiences closer to a full understanding of Verdi’s works and upholds for scholars and performers a new level of probity in a repertory that previously suffered neglect.

Preparation of five volumes of the Works of Giuseppe Verdi.

The preparation of a critical edition of The Works of Giuseppe Verdi is a major international scholarly undertaking. The complete edition will comprise 32 volumes of operas and six volumes of Verdi's other works. Ten works in the edition will have been published by Fall 2000 as well as four piano-vocal scores based on the edition. The critical edition has been used as the basis for number of performances in major opera houses. The NEH has generously provided support for the edition form the beginning, and the current application requests further funding to support editorial development work on the next volumes. Several volumes will be in active stages of preparation, notably Un ballo in maschera, Forza del destino, La battaglia di legnano, and Aroldo.

Preparation of an edition of the complete works of Giuseppi Verdi. (24 months)

The University of Chicago Press, in cooperation with Casa Ricordi of Milan, has embarked on the first critical edition of the complete works of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). This critical edition, which has already proven invaluable to musical scholarship as well as to the performance of Verdi's music, is projected to take over forty years to complete. The sequence of work has been organized so as to issue the more famous operas in alternation with lesser-known works, to maintain balanced sales as well as heterogeneity. Furthermore, to facilitate editing and production, the largest and most complex works, particularly the double volumes containing several versions, are scheduled between smaller, less demanding volumes. The edition is being prepared under the general editorship of Philip Gossett and an editorial board that includes six other Verdi scholars.