Crate expectations as Verdi scores are made public
Experts hope that 5,300-page trove may reveal previously unknown works by the Italian composer
Well over a century after Verdi’s death, excitement has arisen at the possibility that previously unknown compositions by the Italian composer may soon see the light of day for the first time. A trunk full of handwritten notes by the great man has recently been handed over by his heirs to the Italian government, which now intends to make them public. At the very least, say experts, the 5,300 pages will give an invaluable insight into Verdi’s working methods and creative thoughts and there may even be some unheard music lurking within them. Until now, the trunk has sat undisturbed at the composer’s house near Piacenza while his family debated among themselves just what they wanted to with the scores. An appeal to the family by several leading Italian artistic figures, however, persuaded them to part with them.
‘I am 95 per cent sure we will find as yet unheard music by Verdi in these documents,’ says Verdi expert Fabrizio Della Seta. ‘We not only have all Verdi’s notes on his compositions, but also passages of music that were cut from operas and which we have probably never heard. Verdi kept everything, and there are apparently 900 pages of notes on his opera Falstaff alone which have not been seen.’
The publication of the crate’s contents will not be entirely without controversy, however, as they apparently also include a note by Verdi instructing they should all be burnt. Unlike Sibelius several years later, who set about his work with a box of matches, Verdi made the mistake of relying on his family to do the deed.
‘I am 95 per cent sure we will find as yet unheard music by Verdi in these documents’