Kategoria BISAC: Music >> Genres & Styles - Opera

In the 17th century, harmonious sounds were thought to represent the well-ordered body of the obedient subject, and, by extension, the well-ordered state; conversely, discordant, unpleasant music represented both those who caused disorder (murderers, drunkards, witches, traitors) and those who suffered from bodily disorders (melancholics, madmen, and madwomen). While these theoretical correspondences seem straightforward, in theatrical practice the musical portrayals of disorderly characters were multivalent and often ambiguous.

O Let Us Howle Some Heavy Note focuses on the various...

Known primarily as the composer of The Nutcracker Suite and other legendary pieces, Tchaikovsky was also a noted musical dramatist. Here, in the first book devoted to the subject, his operas are explored in depth: from his two most famous, Eugene Oneginand The Queen of Spades, to such lesser-known works as The Maid of Orleans. The social and psychological complexity of these operas, not to mention their musical brilliance, confirm Tchaikovsky's reputation as his country's greatest opera composer. He displayed great versatility in the range of genres in which he...

What was it like at the opening night of Mozart's Don Giovanni or Wagner's Das Rheingold? This glittering introduction to the world of opera takes us behind the scenes during premiere performances of five extraordinary operas.
"A rare and wonderful cultural history."--Philip Kennicott, Washington Post
"An absorbing tangle of minutiae about performing circumstances, personalities, conventions, expectations, critical responses, gossip. . . . This book is readable. Addictively."--Michael White, Opera Now
"This thoroughly enjoyable and informative...

This second volume of "The Paris Opera" offers descriptions of balletic and lyrical compositions and biographical sketches of famous vocalists, dancers, choreographers, composers, and librettists. Each entry pertaining to an opera or ballet identifies its composer, librettist, choreographer, costumer, set designer, and the performers contributing to its creation and important revivals. Contents of scenarios and librettos are reported scene by scene or act by act. Basic bibliographies are provided with page references furnished for important books and periodicals. The appendix lists all...

Ottenberg synthesizes material from a variety of sources--annals, memoirs, and scholarly sources--and, with them, weaves a coherent narrative of what was performed where, by whom, and what developments took place. Works, companies, and individual singers are discussed to reveal the 19th-century world of performance styles and audience expectations. This is a fascinating look at a relatively unexplored part of American musical and cultural history; the book casts new light on opera in America--its variety, popularity, and appeal to changing audiences throughout the century.

Videos featuring opera singers were initially released in the mid 1980s. This companion volume to "Opera Mediagraphy: Video Recordings and Motion Pictures" (Greenwood, 1993) indexes opera singers on video and film in concert, recital, and non-operatic feature film and includes VHS videotape, optical video laser disc, CD-ROM, and DVD recordings. Liturgical works, such as masses, and symphonies are also included. Arranged alphabetically, each film entry includes a rating, cites reviews, includes film production information, and lists the film's contents and performers. Films and singers are...

Consisting of six studies that present hermeneutical analyses of Wagnerian dramas, this book discusses Wagner's mature single dramas from "Hollander" to "Parsifal" with reference to the concept of Romantic irony and the basic theoretical orientation of post-structuralism. Wagner is best known as a composer of mythological works, but these music-dramas contain basic problems that essentially contradict what is regarded as their mythological or legendary nature. They all self-referentially play out certain critical processes. Focusing on the very issue of interpretation, this work asks how...

Opera has often used classical literature as a means of expressing the most vital concerns of the period in which the operas were written. "Sing Sorrow" explores the classical roots of many noted operas, illustrating the ways in which the operas reflected the political concerns of their time through these ancient narratives. In particular, though female opera characters are often regarded as victims, they are actually quite heroic, frequently shaping their own destinies.

Each chapter provides background and historical context, examines the relationship between the opera and the original...