Verdi and the Victorians

FAIN: FT-51239-03

Roberta M. Marvin
University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA 52242-1320)

This presents the first systematic study of censorship, dissemination and reception of the operas of the Verdi in Victorian London.In formulating a profile of the manner in which Verdi's works were presented and received in London between 1845 and 1901, my project draws on previously untapped primary sources, seeking to expand our view of the place of Verdi's operas in history and of imported opera in Victorian culture.It addresses the intertwining of Victorian ideology and reality through investigating relationships between art and society; the aesthetic and sociological intersections of Italian and English cultures; and the manner in which art served to mediate the pretenses of decorum and the realities of life in Victorian London.