DiCrEd · Towards a Digital Critical Edition of The Works of Giuseppe Verdi

Towards a Digital Critical Edition of The Works of Giuseppe Verdi

Issues addressed Critical editions of 19th-century Italian opera have been appearing in print for over four decades, providing the basis for productions in major theatres around the world. Established in 1983, The Works of Giuseppe Verdi (WGV, Ricordi – University of Chicago Press) plans to publish all of Verdi’s music with a twofold purpose: 1) a philological one, aiming at rendering musical texts that mirror authorial intention; 2) a practical one, providing users with reliable scores correcting errors perpetuated by conventional editions. Its traditional printed book format presents, however, several limitations: a) it does not allow simultaneous visualisation of alternative materials; b) users have no access to source materials on which volumes are based; c) the text of the main score is not modifiable, preventing employment of alternative materials or addition of new sections (if new sources arise). DiCrEd seeks to remedy these limitations, by developing the first model of a digital critical edition for a 19th-century Italian opera series, combining the rigorous approach of WGV with the possibilities offered by digital humanities. The project’s highly multidisciplinary approach, drawn from traditional textual criticism and new digital instruments, allows to overcome the two disciplines’ respective limits. Overall Objectives The main research objective of DiCrEd was to develop a model of digital critical edition for WGV, using the revised version of Verdi’s Macbeth (1865) in French as a case study. The original project involved the development of the model for the full score. Due to the COVD pandemic, which prevented me to complete the secondment in Paderborn as initially planned, I have decided to focus on the edition of the piano-vocal score, in agreement with my mentor and General Editor of WGV, prof. Francesco Izzo, and with my Project Officer. The edition of the piano-vocal score will merge into an open access website, currently under construction, which will ensure the widespread dissemination of the project’s pioneering results. The model will contain: a) A digital historical introduction tracing an opera’s history, reception, early circulation and performance practices. b) A digital piano-vocal score, notated with language developed within the MEI. c) Reproductions of the principal sources on which the musical edition is based. d) A digital edition of the libretto, based on the libretto printed for the premiere, transcribed with the language developed within TEI. e) Reproductions of the principal sources on which the edition of the libretto is based. f) A digital critical commentary for the score, organised thematically. The model will present an interactive system of fruition of the digital score, allowing users to choose among alternative readings/versions to customise their score. Importance for Society Music has a strong potential for impacting non-specialist audiences. However, many musicological projects fail to make their findings available outside academia. DiCrEd’S dissemination has transcended such limitations by envisaging five target groups: 1) scholars; 2) students; 3) publishers; 4) performers; 5) general public. a) Conference papers and scholarly articles contribute to the communication of research results to scholars and students. b) The applied model of digital critical edition that I am currently finalizing for WGV in collaboration with Edirom has considerable impact implications, as the series is considering a long-term collaboration to integrate digital instruments in their standard toolkit. The critical edition of Macbeth in French that I have completed led to c) the opera’s modern world premiere at the Festival Verdi, in Parma (September 2020) as well as to d) an audio recording (Dynamic records), distributed worldwide.

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