Opera

1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-0-521-74647-2
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 168 Seiten, Format (B × H): 170 mm x 244 mm, Gewicht: 771 g

Reihe: Cambridge Introductions to Music

What is opera and how does it work? How has this dramatic form developed and what is its relevance in the modern world? Perfect for music students and opera-goers, this introductory guide addresses these questions and many more, exploring opera as a complete theatrical experience. Organised chronologically and avoiding technical musical terminology, the book clearly demonstrates how opera reflected and reacted to changes in the world around it. A special feature of the volume is the inclusion of illustrative tables throughout. These provide detailed, easy to follow analysis of arias, scenes and acts; visual guides to historical movements; and chronologies relating to genres and individual composers' works. Overall, the book fosters an understanding of opera as a living form as it encounters and uses material from an ever expanding repertoire in time, place and culture.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cannon, Robert

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Theaterwissenschaft Theatergeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Opernmusik
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Geschichte der Musik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction; Part I: 1. Pre-operatic forms; 2. First operatic forms: Peri, Caccini, Monteverdi, Cavalli, Keiser; 3. Formalization; 4. Reform – the reintegration of elements; 5. Comedy and the 'real world'; 6. 'Authentic' performance; Part II: 7. Romanticism and romantic opera in Germany; 8. Opera in nineteenth-century Italy; 9. Grand Opéra and the visual language of opera; 10. The Wagnerian revolution; 11. Nationalists: vernacular language and music; 12. The role of the singer; Part III: 13. The turn of the century and the crisis in opera; 14. First modernism: symbolist and expressionist opera; 15. The dramaturgy of opera: libretto – words and structure; 16. Narrative opera: realistic and non-realistic; 17. Radical narratives; 18. Directors and the direction of opera; Appendices: 1. Motifs from Der Ring; 2. The development of singing voices; 3. The development of lyric theatre alternatives to 'opera'; 4. Some major operas, artistic and political events of the twentieth century; Glossary of terms; Bibliography.

Über Autor(innen)

Cannon, Robert
Robert Cannon is an independent music critic and writer and runs dedicated courses on opera and theatre. He designed and created the first Degree in Opera Studies, which is offered as Distance Learning by Rose Bruford College and is validated by the University of Manchester.