Book contents
- Puccini in Context
- Composers in Context
- Puccini in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Table
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Formative Influences
- Part II Puccini’s Places
- Part III Influences and Interests
- Part IV Bringing Puccini to the Stage
- Part V Image and Reputation
- Part VI Puccini through a Political Lens
- Part VII Interpreting Puccini
- Chapter 26 Editing Puccini
- Chapter 27 Puccini on Video
- Chapter 28 Interpreting Puccini on Stage and on Disc
- Chapter 29 Producing Puccini Today
- Part VIII Legacy
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 26 - Editing Puccini
from Part VII - Interpreting Puccini
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 August 2023
- Puccini in Context
- Composers in Context
- Puccini in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Table
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Formative Influences
- Part II Puccini’s Places
- Part III Influences and Interests
- Part IV Bringing Puccini to the Stage
- Part V Image and Reputation
- Part VI Puccini through a Political Lens
- Part VII Interpreting Puccini
- Chapter 26 Editing Puccini
- Chapter 27 Puccini on Video
- Chapter 28 Interpreting Puccini on Stage and on Disc
- Chapter 29 Producing Puccini Today
- Part VIII Legacy
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter considers the complex task of editing Puccini’s works, informed by the production of the Ricordi critical edition (launched in 2008 and ongoing). An abundance of materials exist upon which the editor can draw, including autographs, sketches, printed editions, and correspondence, thanks to Puccini’s close and long relationship with the Ricordi firm. However, some gaps exist in the surviving sources, and some sources disagree with others. The author explains that the editor must choose a text on which to base the edition, drawing on further sources as necessary to make informed interventions, striving to get as close as possible to the composer’s intentions, but mindful of the fact that his intentions and preferences changed over time. In Puccini’s case, second editions usually reflect the works as performed at their premieres, the first edition already becoming obsolete in rehearsal. The chapter discusses the various decisions and interventions that an editor must make in order to make an edition both faithful and usable. Puccini’s working method and process of revising his operas are discussed in detail. The chapter ends by asking whether early recordings, as well as printed and written documents, should inform an edition.
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- Information
- Puccini in Context , pp. 217 - 223Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023