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Madama Butterfly: Vocal Score

(Vocal Score). Italian/English. Translated by Martin. This revised edition features a new cover design and introductory plot synopsis in English.

Paperback: 272 pages

Publisher: Ricordi (November 1, 1986)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0793553881

ISBN-13: 978-0793553884

Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.7 x 10.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #425,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #13 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Puccini #119 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Historical Period > Late Romantic #257 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Vocal

I purchased this score for a performance of Butterfly in July and August of this year. You would think a Ricordi score would have the Italian text on top. But, no, on top is a larger type English text. Underneath is the barely legible Italian text. Maybe I'm missing something, but most of the Butterfly recordings that I'm familiar with are sung in Italian. Perhaps singing the opera in English was an earlier practice and I've heard "Un bel di sung" in English, but really it isn't standard practice for this opera anymore, and Ricordi should update their score. I literally had to take corrector tape and white-out the English, so I would only have the Italian below my music. I prefer to write out my own translations anyways, so the English took up precious score space, when the Italian could have been made far more legible.Other than that, and a few mistakes here and there, the music is clear, and the score is a tough one. I've spilled some coffee on the cover, and it wiped off well, with no damage. The binding is also pretty strong.

Glad to finally have this piano-vocal score in my library. I am partial to Ricordi scores, and this one does not dissapoint. Includes synopsis in Italian, English, German and French. Pages are printed clearly. Libretto is in Italian with English transliteration.

If you are planning on performing this opera in Italian, do NOT buy this edition. It is impossible to follow because the English translations are on top of the Italian and the Italian is small and italicized. The paging is awkward and does not follow either the Schirmer or the hard copy of the Ricordi. I learned the music with CD sheet music and got this in the mail the day of my first rehearsal... I immediately sold it to a girl in the chorus after the rehearsal and ordered another edition. It is useless, unless you are performing it in English which probably never happens.

My only real issue with the score is that the Italian is below the English and in Italics.

This is a great, affordable score - I also wished I would have purchased the hard bound copy but this is very functional

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