The bulk electronic structure of MgO is calculated from first principl
es including correlation effects within the GW approximation. The band
gap, the position of the 2s O band, and the valence band width are in
good agreement with experiment. From the quasiparticle band structure
, optical transitions corresponding to the main optical absorption pea
ks are identified. The energy-loss spectrum is also calculated and com
pared with experiment. The surface electronic structure of MgO(100) is
calculated self-consistently within the local-density approximation.
It is found that states observed in a recent photoemission experiment
outside the bulk allowed states are close to surface states.