- Parker, Roger. “Leonora’s Last Act: La forza del destino.” In Leonora’s Last
Act(#1808), 61–99.
The opera (premiere 1862) was revised in 1869 for La Scala. Parker uses this
revision as a springboard for interesting views on revisions in general. Are they
improvements, based on a composer’s growing maturity, or should the original
be regarded as the perfect inspiration? Wonders about Cone’s contention (in
#1926) that Verdi’s revisions moved toward “tonally unified structures.”
Forzawas in E major, but the revision starts in E major and ends in A-flat
major. What Verdi did was “merely replace one set of connections with
another”; he was not “reconstituting some organic mass.” - Petrobelli, Pierluigi. “More on the Three ‘Systems’: The First Act of La forza
del destino.” In Music in the Theater(#1807), 127–140.
The systems are dramatic action, verbal organization, and music. Their inter-
actions in act 1 are persuasively demonstrated by Petrobelli. For instance, the
first scena finale uses sonata form with key words occurring at principal junc-
tures. - Corte, Andrea della. “Saggio di bibliografia delle critiche alla Forza del des-
tino.” Verdi 2–6 (1966): 1,863–1,906.
Citations and extracts from reviews and critiques of the opera, from premiere
days to the 1960s.
Jérusalem/I lombardi
I lombardi(1843) was revised for Paris as Jérusalem(1847); the French version was
later translated into Italian as Gerusalemme. Quaderni2 (1963) presents varied mate-
rial about the work.
- Kimbell, David R. “Verdi’s First rifacimento: I lombardiand Jérusalem.”
M&L60 (1979): 1–36.
A detailed account of the changes made for the French production, from sim-
ple carryovers to substantial innovations. Kimbell believes that not all the
adjustments were made to please Parisian audiences; some of the changes
reflect the composer’s growing maturity.
Luisa Miller
ASO151 (1993).
- Senici, Emanuele. “Verdi’s Luisa,a Semiserious Alpine Virgin.” 19thCM22-2
(Fall 1998): 144–168.
The original play, by Schiller, had a town locale, but librettist Cammarano
moved it to the Alps. This is “not a trivial detail” but is “at the core Luisa
Miller’s musico-dramatic construction and cultural signification.” An alpine
setting was often used in opera to symbolize purity of the heroine. Verdi here
and elsewhere “investigated ambience as a means of exploring generic mix-
ture.”
Giuseppe Verdi 353