VERDI: SHAKESPEARE AND MACBETTO

This dissertation attempts to illustrate the influence of Shakespeare on Verdi at the writing of the original Macbetto in 1847 and its Parisian revision in 1865. It speculates about how much influence early nineteenth-century operatic practices, musical and verbal, had on the composer when he first used a Shakespearian drama for one of his librettos. As such it tries to show how Verdi changed the Macbeth which he read in the Carlo Rusconi translation--a Macbeth which is true to Shakespeare, for the most part, though lacking the original\u27s great poetry. The dissertation goes on to point out what Verdi amended for Parisian tastes in 1865 when he tried to revive the work which he believed had artistic merit. The organization of the dissertation consists of five chapters, the first of which traces Shakespeare\u27s influence in Italy through 1830. It contains the information which delineates the rise of the Italian Romantics and their veneration of Shakespeare during Verdi\u27s formative years. Chapter II outlines Verdi\u27s growth as a musical and literary artist up to the first attempt to adapt Macbeth. In particular, it shows some of Verdi\u27s relationships with the librettist Solera, with whom Verdi collaborated in writing Nabucco and Ernani, two of his early successes before Macbetto. Chapter III recalls how Verdi and Piave met, worked together, and most important, how Verdi, as the dominant partner of the team, used the Rusconi translation. Both this chapter and the one following attempt to show how Verdi used music to compensate for the loss of Shakespeare\u27s poetry and for the relative dramatic disadvantages of opera as compared to spoken drama. Chapter IV outlines the Parisian revisions, showing briefly what influenced Verdi to attempt the revival and, in more detail, why he made the 1865 changes. The last chapter speculates on the merit of Verdi\u27s work and comments on the success and failure of certain renowned parts of the opera