Julian BuddenCritiques

Monumental. Budden's first volume was interesting almost more from a historical standpoint, for operas that are less often performed and less foundational to the framework of what we think of as mature opera. This second volume really hits its stride with dense, lengthy chapters on each of Verdi's operas from his middle period.

One caveat: it's worth listening to and preferably viewing online a production of each opera before you begin. Budden doesn't tend to start with the plot and then work his way through; instead he prioritises history and the many changes made before giving us a thorough run-down of how the music and text combine on stage.

The 26 operas of Giuseppe Verdi are among the world's best-loved music. In works such as Rigoletto, Il trovatore and Aida, Verdi developed the musical language of high Romanticism that still speaks to listeners around the world. This is the best one-volume introduction to the most popular of all composers and includes his complete life story and analysis of his most famous works.