religious and philosophical, in which sweet and tender melodies follow one another in the most attractive manner, and which achieves...the most moving dramatic effects without having recourse to bands on the stage, choruses or superhuman demands on vocal cords or lungs. When addressing the music of this opera, several writers refer to its unusual features and the ways by which it suggests directions in which the composer is moving and as seen in later operas. For example, when comparing both versions, Osborne states that act 1, scene 2 of Stiffelio "is almost Otello-like in its force and intensity, while Kimball states directly that "Verdi's music, in keeping with the dramatic theme, is as boldly unconventional as anything he had composed" and he continues, in referring to the Bible reading scene in the finale, that it: marks the most radical break with the stylistic conventions of the day: its single lyrical phrase, the climactic 'Perdonata! Iddio lo pronunziò', stands out electricfyingly from an austere context of recitative intonation and quietly reiterated instrumental ostinati. Osborne agrees when he describes the narrative and musical action moving in tandem in the last act: Stiffelio preaches the gospel story of the woman taken in adultery, which he narrates in recitative. When he is suddenly moved to forgive Lina, his voice rises from the narrative chant to his top A on "Perdonata". The congregation echoes him, Lina ecstatically thanks God with her top C, and the curtain falls". Gabriele Baldini's The Story of Giuseppe Verdi deals with Stiffelio and Aroldo together, so the former gets rather limited mention. But in regard to the music, he makes a point about how: the act 1 soprano and baritone duet [O meco venite / "Come now with me; tears are of no consequence"] for example, contains the germ of several ideas which later expand the Rigoletto quartet. The dark instrumental introduction and broad, passionate arioso which opens act 2, finding the woman alone in an 'ancient cemetery', constitute a sort of dress rehearsal for the beginning of Un ballo in mascheras second act and the final scene of La forza del destino: it is no accident that, musically speaking, these are the best sections of both operas. Recordings ReferencesNotesCited sourcesBaldini, Gabriele (1970), (trans. Roger Parker, 1980), The Story of Giuseppe Verdi: Oberto to Un Ballo in Maschera. Cambridge, et al: Cambridge University Press, 1980. Budden, Julian (1984), The Operas