Verdi's Attila, his ninth opera, had its premiere at Venice's Teatro
La Fenice in March 1846. Based on the German play Attila, King of the
Huns, the libretto has its own storied history: as Verdi fell seriously
ill before the work's completion, the main librettist moved permanently
to Madrid, leaving the last act of Attila only a sketch. It was then
that Verdi called upon Francesco Maria Piave, the librettist for two of
his earlier works, who at the composer's behest scratched plans for a
large choral finale and decided instead to concentrate on the dramatic
roles of the protagonists.
In years since, Attila has become one of Verdi's most popular and
oft-staged early works. The composer's inimitable vitality, soaring arcs
of melody, grand choruses, and passion are here amply apparent. This
piano-vocal score based on the critical edition of the full score
restores the opera's original text and accurately reflects the
composer's colorful and elaborate musical setting, while Helen M.
Greenwald's masterful introduction discusses the opera's origins,
sources, and performance questions, and her critical commentary details
editorial problems and their solutions. In addition, the four appendices
to the edition include two new romanze that Verdi composed for tenors
Nicolai Ivanoff and Napoleone Moriani, as well as the delightful Attila
ritournelle composed by Rossini for one of his soirées.