Music-Genres & Styles-Opera

Fidelio is Beethoven's only complete opera and one of the most admired, and problematic, in the repertoire. This Opera Handbook explores the fascinating musical and dramatic elements within the work as well as the debt to the traditions of French opera in the late...

Opera, a History of the Impossible Genre offers an accessible and chronological survey of opera.Beginning in the 16th century, each chapter hones its focus on a representative opera and composer, and provides discussion on historical and political context. With further reading lists, key term...

Feminist analysis of some of the most performed works in the American-opera canon, emphasizing the voices and perspectives of the sopranos who brought these operas to life. In the 1950s, composers and librettists in the United States were busy seeking to create an opera...

"Looking at opera from the standpoint of its texts, as only a gifted poet and librettist can do, Dana Gioia examines why a surprisingly small number of operas have attained a secure place in the repertory. His insight into the workings of this uniquely...

Through a combination of musical-textual analysis with critical theory and with four interconnected studies of the characters of Walther, Sachs, Beckmesser, and Eva, this book interrogates the ideological underpinnings of Die Meistersinger's narrative.Author: Christopher KimbellISBN-10: 1032390328ISBN-13: 9781032390321Publisher: RoutledgeLanguage: EnglishPublished: 07/02/2024Pages: 184Format: HardcoverWeight: 1.00lbsSize: 9.21h...

The German actress Minna Planer (1809-66) was Wagner's first wife. Though it lasted until her death, their marriage, never an easy one, was punctuated by long periods of separation, and during its early years Minna was the main breadwinner. William Ashton Ellis (1852-1919) abandoned...

William Ashton Ellis (1852-1919) abandoned his medical career in order to devote himself to his Wagner studies. Best known for his translations of Wagner's prose works and of Carl Friedrich Glasenapp's multi-volume biography of the composer, Ellis published in 1911 this English translation of...

Author: Anthony ArblasterISBN-10: 0860916189ISBN-13: 9780860916185Publisher: VersoLanguage: EnglishPublished: 04/17/1997Pages: 352Format: PaperbackWeight: 1.15lbsSize: 8.81h x 5.75w x 1.05d

Investigates cinematic qualities in opera and reveals why Benjamin Britten's operas lend themselves to TV and film interpretations. Benjamin Britten's 1954 opera The Turn of the Screw, based on Henry James's ghost story, has been described by many critics and commentators as cinematic. Along...

Explores the intersection of the world of opera, literature and partisan politics to show how Italian opera was put to use in the 'culture wars' of the day. This last of a trilogy of books on opera and politics in Britain examines the cultural...

In twelve essays, Contemporary Opera in Flux discusses a series of shifts that, taken together, have radically redefined the production and reception of opera. Focusing on productions involving late twentieth- and twenty-first century scores and libretti, the contributors draw on conversations with members of...

In twelve essays, Contemporary Opera in Flux discusses a series of shifts that, taken together, have radically redefined the production and reception of opera. Focusing on productions involving late twentieth- and twenty-first century scores and libretti, the contributors draw on conversations with members of...

This comprehensive history of opera covers its development from its origins in the baroque period to the 20th century, with detailed examinations of individual composers, schools, and stylistic trends. With music criticism, cultural commentary, and historical context, this book is a must-read for opera...

A Book of Operas is a classic music history text that contains these units and introduction: Il barbiere de Siviglia -- Le nozze di Figaro -- Die Zauberflöte -- Don Giovanni -- Fidelio -- Faust -- Mefistofele -- La damnation de Faust -- La...

This music-analytical guide to John Adams's opera, Nixon in China presents detailed, in-depth analysis of the music tied to historical and political contexts. The opera captures an important moment in history and in international relations, and a close study of it from an interdisciplinary...

Connects discussions of vocality and operatic culture with broader aesthetic and cultural shifts in society. In the decades that span the turn of the twentieth century, the Italian tradition of operatic singing became 'modern'. This book identifies and explores the formative elements of this...

A revelatory new account of Black innovation in American opera, showing how composers, performers, and critics redefined the genre both aesthetically and politically in the early twentieth century. The inauguration of a "golden age" in Black opera is often dated to 1955, when Marian...

Bobby and Carolyn: A Memoir of My Two Mothers focuses on the author's mother and the "glamorous soprano" who came between his parents when he was eight years old. They both fell in love with her, but Carolyn Long and his mother, whose nickname...

Bobby and Carolyn: A Memoir of My Two Mothers focuses on the author's mother and the "glamorous soprano" who came between his parents when he was eight years old. They both fell in love with her, but Carolyn Long and his mother, whose nickname...

Richard Wagner wanted to create miracles with his operas, in much the same way as medieval dramatists wanted to produce miracles on stage in the hopes of dazzling and converting an audience of pagans. The connections between Wagner and the dramatists of the Middle...

Elektra was the fourth of fifteen operas by Strauss and opened his successful partnership with the librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Gilliam's study of this major work examines its musical-historical context and also provides a detailed analysis of some of its musical features. He establishes...

A French courtier, secret agent, libertine and adventurer, Beaumarchais (1732-99) was also author of two sparkling plays about the scoundrelly valet Figaro - triumphant successes that were used as the basis of operas by Mozart and Rossini. A highly engaging comedy of intrigue, The...

A pictorial history of the first eighteen years of Opera Siam, the maverick Thai opera company, lavishly illustrated.From its beginnings as a company producing works "akin to community theater" to creations, in the words of London's Opera Magazine "as good as any production from...

All modern artists have had to market themselves in some way. Richard Wagner may just have done it better than anyone else. In a self-promotional effort that began around 1840 in Paris, and lasted for the remainder of his career, Wagner claimed convincingly that...

A powerful pioneer in opera and music recounts her struggles and triumphsFounder and long-time director of the Opera Company of Boston and the first woman to conduct the Metropolitan Opera, Sarah Caldwell was one of America's best known and most adventurous conductors and opera...

The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Operatic Society's Production of The Mikado - and the ladies outdo even themselves in this hilarious staging of the classic operetta.-Large flexible castAuthor: David McGillivrayISBN-10: 0573080976ISBN-13: 9780573080975Publisher: Samuel French LtdLanguage: EnglishPublished: 03/01/1994Pages: 86Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.24lbsSize: 8.50h x...

This detailed study of the earliest opera to have gained a foothold in the modern repertoire has three main sections, with contributions from experts on various aspects of the opera's history and performance. The book begins with a historical section, in which all the...

William Kinderman's detailed study of Parsifal, described by the composer as his "last card," explores the evolution of the text and music of this inexhaustible yet highly controversial music drama across Wagner's entire career. This book offers a reassessment of the ideological and political...

How can the early music movement move into the future? Could this be a transformative moment for change and growth? In this collection, a diverse group of young and established voices from across the globe offer exciting, positive, and challenging thoughts about how we...

In a world of classical vocal music traditions dominated by Italian, German, French and English languages, this book emerges as a pioneering resource dedicated to diversifying vocal repertoires and decolonizing curricula.Spanish, the world's second most spoken language, is uniquely suited for vocal performance due...

This study overturns twentieth-century thinking about pasticcio opera, redefining it as method not genre, and recontextualising it among many artforms which created new works from pre-existing parts. Its history is interwoven with society's transition from a predominantly oral to literate culture and evolutions in...

Pierrot lunaire (1912) is one of the most important music theatre works ever written. This is the first guide in English to a work which continues to be performed, broadcast and recorded worldwide.The book describes the cultural environment around the turn of the century...

Mozart's Don Giovanni is an operatic masterpiece full of iconic and mythical tensions that still resonate today. The work redefines the terms of power, seduction, and morality, and the resulting conflict between the aesthetic and the ethical is deeply rooted in the Enlightenment and...

Gordon Jephtas (1943-92) was born into an impoverished, coloured, single-parent family in South Africa. He began piano lessons after being intrigued by the harmonium player at the local church. In his teens he worked as an accompanist with the amateur coloured opera group "Eoan"...

In 1935 George Gershwin continued the melding of theatrical, classical, and jazz idioms he began with "Rhapsody in Blue " bringing DuBose Heyward's novel and play Porgy to the musical stage with Porgy and Bess. Collaborating with his brother Ira and Heyward, Gershwin created...

At age 25, after six years of intense study, Luciano Pavarotti found himself in utter despair. His voice had just faltered under the pressure of an international competition. He felt his singing had deserted him, believing that he would never achieve the status of...

The Opera And The Press, written by Charles Lewis Gruneisen in 1869, is a comprehensive study of the relationship between opera and the press during the 19th century. Gruneisen explores how the press influenced the development and reception of opera, and how opera in...

Mattia Battistini (1856-1928) is considered by many to be among the finest examples of the bel canto singing style. His unique vocal abilities and strong stage personality made him the most famous singer of his time, with a career spanning nearly 50 years in...

In this enlightening and entertaining book, one of the most original and sophisticated musicologists writing today turns his attention to music's most dramatic genre. Extending his ongoing project of clarifying music's various roles in Western society, Kramer brings to opera his distinctive and pioneering...

El Capitan is a comic opera with music by John Philip Sousa and a libretto by Charles Klein. Set in 17th-century Peru, it tells the story of a Spanish officer, Don Medigua, who is tasked with guarding a valuable treasure from pirates. However, when...

Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. But how did it come to be so adored? In this book, author Alexandra Wilson traces La Bohème's rise to fame and demonstrates that its success grew steadily through...

Title: Ariodante, HWV 33 Composer: George Frideric Handel Original Publisher: Deutsche H ndelgesellschaft The complete score to Handel's Ariodante, HWV 33, as edited by Friedrich Chrysander and published as part of the Deutsche H ndelgesellschaft, Band 85, in 1881. Performer's Reprints are produced in...

Grisélidis is a lush and romantic opera by legendary French composer Jules Massenet. It tells the story of a beautiful courtesan who falls in love with a young nobleman but is ultimately betrayed by him. The opera features some of Massenet's most beautiful music,...

A group of resourceful kids start "solution-seekers.com," a website where "cybervisitors" can get answers to questions that trouble them. But when one questioner asks the true meaning of Christmas, the kids seek to unravel the mystery by journeying back through the prophecies of the...

Practiced internationally between 1960 and 2000, opera piracy (the illegal practice of recording live operatic performances in the opera house) was rampant. How fortunate! Because of pirating, we now have documentation of famous voices as they sounded in real life, not as they were...

Beyond Reason relates Wagner's works to the philosophical and cultural ideas of his time, centering on the four music dramas he created in the second half of his career: Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von N?rnberg, and Parsifal. Karol Berger...

In Opera as Art: Philosophical Sketches, Paul Thom argues for opera as an art, standing alongside other artforms that employ visual and sonic media to embody the great themes of human life. Thom contends that in great operatic art, the narrative and expressive content...

Visionary director Yuval Sharon has been celebrated as one of the world's most innovative opera impresarios, yet he has never adhered to traditional form, observing that most operas "suffer the dull edge of routine in unimaginative and woefully under-rehearsed productions." Sharon seeks to disrupt...

Jean de Reszke was one of the greatest singers of the golden age of opera, and this book provides a fascinating window into his life and times. With its engaging prose and fascinating insights into the world of opera, The Operatic Age of Jean...

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States,...