The Early Publication History of Oberto: an Eye Toward Nabucco," Verdi Forum: No
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Verdi Forum Number 13 Article 2 1-1-1985 The aE rly Publication History of Oberto: An Eye Toward Nabucco Luke Jensen New York University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/vf Part of the Musicology Commons Recommended Citation Jensen, Luke (1985) "The Early Publication History of Oberto: An Eye Toward Nabucco," Verdi Forum: No. 13, Article 2. Available at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/vf/vol1/iss13/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Verdi Forum by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The aE rly Publication History of Oberto: An Eye Toward Nabucco Keywords Giuseppe Verdi, Oberto, Nabucco, Casa Ricordi This article is available in Verdi Forum: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/vf/vol1/iss13/2 The Early Publication History of Ob~o: an Eye To~ard Nabucco by Luke Jensen Verdi both began his career As Verdi recalled later in life, as an opera composer and initi Giovanni Ricordi acquired Obvi.to ated his relationship with Casa for 2,000 Austrian lire.2 This Ricordi, his preferred publish appears to have been the pur er, with Obvi.to, Con..te di San chase of the performance Bo~c.lo. Bartolomeo Merelli, rights. Casa Ricordi had vari the impresario at La Scala, ini ous activities, and Giovanni's tially produced Obvi.to shoulder role as a general publisher ing all the expenses, with differed from his role as a Verdi's payment coming from the publisher with music for hire. subsequent sale of the score to In 19th-century Italy, general Ricordi. On October 6, 1839, a publication of operas included month and a half before the pre reductions of the score for miere of Obvi.to, Verdi wrote to public sale, rather than repro Pietro Massini, an early Verdi ductions of the full orchestral promoter who led an organization score. In the rare instances of amateur musicians. Verdi where a full score was printed, said, the editor used it to facilitate performances of the work, that Arrangements for my opera is, a score for hire and not for are still going well. The· sale to the general public. For singers are all happy and the moment, Verdi probably re the women have their solved the issue of printing parts. The score·remains rights by participating directly my property, and I'm having in the reduction of his score the parts prepared by the for general publication. His 'copisteria Ricordi' [the subsequent contract left provi branch of the firm that sions for the sale of publica prepared performance mate tion rights ambiguous, which led rials for La Scala and for to a lawsuit over Nabuc.c.o.3 An rental to other theaters]. examination of the early publi The price hasn't been de cation history of Obvi.to indi cided yet, and it will be cates Verdi's activities during entrusted to Pasetti. the earliest period of his ca [Giovanni Ricordi later reer and reveals previously un dedicated the piano-vocal known music that he wrote for a score of Obvi.to to Verdi's subsequent performance of friend, Francesco Pasetti. I Obvi.to. This new music may in Ricordi told me he had the dicate the gestation of some printing rights without ideas Verdi used in his third giving any compensation. opera, Nabuc.c.o. This doesn't seem right to Giovanni Ricordi, founder and me. Enough; it doesn't pay patriarch of the firm bearing to talk about it now.1 his name, kept a set of books 2Arturo Pougin, Giw.ie.ppe lFranco Abbiati, Giw.ie.ppe VeAdi.: v.d.a. aneddo.t.lc.a (Milan: VeAdi., vol. 1 (Milan: Ricordi, Ricordi, 1881) p.42. 1959) pp.315-6. Translations are mine. 3Pougin, p. 42. 6 convnonly referred to as the Nava, and he continued consecu Ub11..oru. These volumes of in- tively. The earliest entries ternal documents chart the record, from left to right, the printing process in his estab plate number, author and title, lishment and provide clues to price, the number of plates Verdi's role in the preparation used, and the number of copies of his works for general publi made. Ricordi included a date cation. They indicate that he column between the author and reduced at least three numbers title, but no consistent entries of ObeJt-to in piano-vocal score, appeared until about 1816. In as well as the overtures of Un about 1818 or 1819, Ricordi gio1t110 di.. Jte.9110, his second began to enter the name of the opera, and Afzi'La, his eighth. engraver assigned to each He also prepared the reduction number. In 1820, he began a new of the duet for Lida and Rolando volume in which · he established a in the third act of La ba.t..tagl<.a format that provided the model d.i.. Legnano. for the rest of the century. Although writers who have This new volume and the first discussed 19th-century Italian were bound together at a later music in the last 20 years have date and now form volume one of occasionally referred to the the ub11.01u. Ricordi reserved .l<.b1ton..<., no thorough study of each opening for a certain class these important records cur of music, with class one and two rently appears in print. 4 Their indicating piano solos, class size and complexity partially three simplified piano music, explain this absence: they span class four vocal pieces, class well over 100,000 plate numbers, five violin, and class six which includes the entire histo flute. These classifications ry of Casa Ricordi in the 19th later changed, and occasionally century . Some description of Ricordi included more than one the l<:b1ton..<. is necessary in or on a single opening of facing der to put the ObeJl-to material pages, or dropped them alto in context, however a full dis gether. Table One presents a cussion would require an effort diagram of an opening in the much beyond the scope of this 1820 format. The layout covers study. both sides and there were 25 These books are large, entries per opening. The plate manuscript, oblong ledgers that number appeared first to the far record through 23 volumes the left side, followed by the name publications of Ricordi by plate of the engraver. Next came the number, with entries in many composer. The fourth column different hands. Giovanni gave the date the piece was Ricordi began his publication assigned to the engraver, and records in 1808 with number one, the fifth the title. In Le Qua.t..tJt.o Stag.ion..<., a piece for addition, the left side included guitar solo by Antonio Maria the price, the number of plates, and the number of copies printed on various occasions. The 4one of the most useful number of plates appears on the studies that use the l<:b1torU. for right side in later volumes, and documentation is David Rosen, the number of copies disappeared "The Lib1ton..<. and Additional altogether from the .t'.ib.11.on..<. Notes on Ricordi Publications of about 1827. The format of 1820 Mac.beth" in Veltd.i.. '-6 Mac.be.th: A included three pieces of SoUll..c.ebook, ed. by David Rosen information on the right side: and Andrew Porter (New York: the date of publication, the Norton, 1984) pp.302-5. 7 Table 1 Diagram of Ricordi's L<.b~on..<: in 1820 Left s i de of opening plate engraver composer date assigned title price nwnber of nwnber of nwnber to earaver _!?_lates C'2.!!_ies ..E_r inted .- Ri ght si de of opening data of decisione nwnber ~blication de' fascicoli of~s "decisione dei fascicoli",5 and police. In short, Ricordi the number of pages, but these included information specific to pieces of information do not a particular composition on the consistently appear from one right side of an opening which volume to another. In the early may not have applied to other years the date of publication publications, or was simply not appeared regularly, but in later deemed important enough to volumes it occurs only sporadi record for all numbers. cally, most frequently for From this source we can know piano-vocal scores of operas. when a composition and its Ricordi generally used the right reduction were completed and page of the opening to include given to the engraver. Also, we information unique to the kind can identify who prepared many of publication involved. For of the opera scores for publica example, the process used to tion in one of 'the standard prepare the title page (litho reductions. For a reduction of graphy, typography, etc.) might an opera as a piano-vocal, piano be recorded, and an opera solo, piano four-hand, or any reduction with several numbers other straightforward arrange would carry the information ment, the entry included the about the title page only once. name of the composer with the Other compositions were produced reducer's name often appearing without a separate title page. in smaller writing in the same Also, Ricordi indicated in column. This contrasts wi th stances where two different more complex arrangements such pieces used the same plates. as fantasies or paraphrases This frequently happened when a based on themes from an opera. composition for solo violin was Here, whoever wrote the particu also published in an edition for lar fantasy appeared as the flute. A single set of plates composer, with the name of the for the piano accompaniment original author in the title would serve both editions and an column.