Now available for the first time in a sturdily produced, reasonably priced paperbound edition is the complete orchestral score of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, considered by many to be the greatest comic opera ever written. The composer completed the score in barely half a year, while also working on three new piano concertos (E Flat Major, A Major and C Minor), a violin sonata and other projects.
Based on the second play of a trilogy by Beaumarchais (the first was The Barber of Seville), Figaro elevates the time-honored opera buffa of Italian tradition to new heights, transfiguring persons and scenes with glorious melodies and superb dramatic characterizations.
The present edition, based on Mozart’s autograph manuscript and early German translations of the libretto, embodies both the original Italian libretto of Lorenzo Da Ponte and a new, corrected version of the German text. It is totally complete and contains all passages, including some that are missing from other editions and often cut in performances. In addition, the Editors’ Commentary includes a complete review of all dubious passages and text problems.
This full orchestral score is an indispensable aid for study and for anyone listening to record sets or broadcasts. In no other manner can the listener or student keep full awareness of the many elements that make up this opera.
Unabridged republication of the edition by Georg Schunemann and Kurt Soldan, with German translation of the vocal text by Georg Schunemann, originally published by C. F. Peters, Leipzig, ca. 1941. All preliminary matter and the Editors’ Commentary, originally in German, appear in a new English translation specially prepared by Stanley Appelbaum. Total of 448pp. 9 3/8 x 12 1/4. Paperbound.
Copyright © 1998 MIDI Classics®. Revised February 10, 1998