This summer I’m reading The Operas of Verdi
Julian Budden‘s masterful, three-volume analysis of the entire Verdi oeuvre is fascinating reading.
Each opera is given its due, with descriptions of what lead to the composition of each opera in terms of inspiration and circumstances and then given an in-depth analysis of the music and libretti with musical examples. I used to own all three but somewhere along the line, I misplaced them.
