choruses, vocal ensembles with the varying characters differentiated through the music, and marches with the stage band are a feature of this work. The chorus "O Signore, dal tetto natio", like its counterpart the Chorus of Hebrew Slaves in Verdi's previous opera Nabucco became extremely and deservedly popular. There is an unusually extended orchestral introduction with solo violin in three sections before the "Baptism" trio "Qual voluttà trascorrere" with the solo violin also prominent in the closing section of that trio. The character of Giselda comes across with striking individuality due to the music Verdi composed for her. Recordings References Notes Sources Further reading Baldini, Gabriele (1970), (trans. Roger Parker, 1980), The Story of Giuseppe Verdi: Oberto to Un Ballo in Maschera. Cambridge, et al: Cambridge University Press. De Van, Gilles (trans. Gilda Roberts) (1998), Verdi’s Theater: Creating Drama Through Music. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. (hardback), Gossett, Philip (2006), Divas and Scholar: Performing Italian Opera, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Martin, George, Verdi: His Music, Life and Times (1983), New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. Osborne, Charles (1969), The Complete Opera of Verdi, New York: Da Capo Press, Inc. Pistone, Danièle (1995), Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera: From Rossini to Puccini, Portland, OR: Amadeus Press. Toye, Francis (1931), Giuseppe Verdi: His Life and Works, New York: Knopf Walker, Frank, The Man Verdi (1982), New York: Knopf, 1962, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Werfel, Franz and Stefan, Paul (1973), Verdi: The Man and His Letters, New York, Vienna House. External links Libretto (in Italian) on giuseppeverdi.it Arias on aria-database.com OONY website with 2012-13 season productions Verdi: "The story" and "History" on giuseppeverdi.it (in English) Operas by Giuseppe Verdi Italian-language operas 1843 operas Operas Operas set in Italy Opera world premieres at La Scala Operas set in the Levant