Edited by Francesco Izzo (2021)
Two-volume set: score + critical commentary
NR 140863
Giuseppe Verdi’s second opera, Un giorno di regno, received its premiere at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala in September 1840. This melodramma giocoso in two acts to a libretto originally written by Felice Romani was Verdi’s first and only comic work before his final masterpiece, Falstaff (1893). Famously, the opera failed at the premiere, and its circulation was limited during Verdi’s lifetime. It enjoyed a successful revival in Venice in 1845, however, when its title was changed to Il finto Stanislao; and it is mostly under that title that the opera was known in the twentieth century.
This critical edition of Un giorno di regno is based primarily on Verdi’s autograph manuscript, held at the Archivio Storico Ricordi in Milan. In addition, the editor has consulted several manuscript copies, the first piano-vocal score published by Ricordi in 1840, and the printed libretto from the premiere at La Scala. In-depth study of these sources has revealed previously unknown details regarding Verdi’s creative process, which are examined in depth in the historical introduction to the edition. The musical text rectifies numerous errors and inaccuracies contained in previous editions, including articulation, expression markings, tempo indications, and melodic detail. Furthermore, in some instances, passages of poetry that had been altered by the Milanese censors are returned to their original readings.
The appendices include preliminary or rejected versions of various passages, including two remarkable complete movements that Verdi replaced at the last moment: a stretta for the Act 1 terzetto and an early cabaletta for Edoardo’s aria in Act 2. These pieces were fully orchestrated by Verdi and can now be studied and performed, providing further insight into Verdi’s creativity at the outset of his operatic career. Also included in the edition is a piano reduction of the Sinfonia originally published by Ricordi in 1840 and attributed to Verdi.
Much has been said about the tragic circumstances under which Verdi had to compose Un giorno di regno. His wife, Margherita Barezzi, died suddenly less than three months before the premiere performance, and the couple had lost both of their children during the previous two years. Biographers came to blame the fiasco of the opera on those circumstances and have long regarded it as an unfortunate parenthesis in Verdi’s career. Through this edition, however, we now understand that Verdi invested enormous energy and effort into the creation of this opera, revising its structure and poetry and polishing the music with great care and attention to detail. Un giorno di regno shows both the continuity of the opera buffa tradition known through masterpieces by Rossini and Donizetti, and the emergence of Verdi’s powerful authorial voice. As such, it can thoroughly captivate composers.