In this third edition of the classic Verdi, renowned authority Julian Budden offers a comprehensive overview of Verdi the man and the artist, tracing his ascent from humble beginnings to the status of a cultural patriarch of the new Italy, whose cause he had done much to promote, and demonstrating the gradual enlargement over the years of his artistic vision. This concise study is an accessible, insightful, and engaging summation of Verdi scholarship, acquainting the non-specialist with the personal details Verdi's life, with the operatic world in which he worked, and with his political ideas, his intellectual vision, and his powerful means of communicating them through his music. In his survey of the music itself, Budden emphasizes the unique character of each work as well as the developing sophistication of Verdi's style. He covers all of the operas, the late religious works, the songs, and the string quartet. A glossary explains even the most obscure operatic terms current in Verdi's time.

This classic text, first published in 1972, has withstood the test of time as a teaching aid for English-speaking singers, teachers, coaches, and accompanists, in order that their art may be more communicative to the public. These word-by-word translations of songs and arias allow the artist to properly interpret and express the feelings and emotions that the words require at the proper time.

Berton Coffin, "creator of The Singer's Repertoire," considers this volume to be Volume VIII of the set and explains that "Mr. Shoep has concentrated on the Italian opera repertoire, and Mr. Harris has concentrated on the Italian song repertoire."--Preface, p. viii.