Jerusalem, Airs de Ballet

Verdi's operas are most often represented in the concert hall by their overtures or 'sinfonias' with very good reason. A number of them are symphonic gems in their own right. The operas he composed for the Paris stage give us another view of his orchestral virtuosity with their sumptuous ballet scores. The Airs de Ballet was given its premiere with the premiere of Jérusalem, the French-language revsion of his earlier opera I Lombardi given in Paris in the Salle Le Peletier on November 26, 1847. The ballet, staged during Act III as per the tradition at the Paris opera, featured music newly composed by Verdi. This newly edited and engraved score was prepared by Howard K. Wolf in consultation with the available authoritative sources both manuscript and printed.