Testualismo ed originalismo in musica: interpretazione ed esecuzione dell’opera lirica di Giuseppe Verdi

The present essay aims at reflecting on the relationship between a possible musical interpretation based on a (legal) textualist and originalist approach and Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, with particular attention to some discrepancies between the composer’s texts and intentions and later executive practices. Three areas will be considered: Verdi’s “authentic” textualist interpretation and his critique of the creation, rather than interpretation, of his operas by singers and directors; Arturo Toscanini’s philological-musical rigor for a performance that respected the composer’s intent and Riccardo Muti’s recovery of the Verdi/Toscanini lesson to overcome “bad” traditions and return to the spirit and intentions of Verdi himself.