The Works of Giuseppe Verdi (WGV) is a joint publication of the University of Chicago Press and Casa Ricordi. Established in the mid-1970s under the early leadership of Philip Gossett, in cooperation with Verdi scholars Julian Budden, Martin Chusid, Francesco Degrada, Ursula Günther, and Giorgio Pestelli, it is the first critical edition of the composer’s oeuvre and upon completion will include his songs, choral music and sacred pieces, string quartet and other instrumental works, as well as the operas. Since its inception, WGV has aimed to make available editions that are rigorously faithful to authentic sources and eminently suitable for performance. In addition to the full score, each publication includes a separately bound critical commentary that gives an account of the source research underpinning the edition, along with page-by-page critical notes to accompany the score. Piano-vocal reductions of the operas are also made available, as well as orchestral and choral parts prepared for rental by our partners at Casa Ricordi.
WGV, which is a bilingual publication in English and Italian, follows a comprehensive set of editorial principles designed to give uniformity and consistency throughout the series. These principles, set out in abbreviated form in the general preface to each volume, explain as well the typographical distinctions employed to enable readers to differentiate easily Verdi’s actual markings from those extended by analogy with similar passages in the score, those derived from secondary sources, and those added by the volume editor.

www.press.uchicago.edu