Product Description
Mozart's collaborations with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte led to the composition of three of the great masterpieces of opera.This book, designed to guide the reader to a deeper understanding and appreciation of these enigmatic works, charts the musical, cultural, and social context in which they were written--the tastes and expectations of the contemporary opera audience, Mozart's intentions and aspirations in a period of rapid intellectual and political change,Da Ponte's views of opera, and the practical logistics of opera production at the time. Together, these strands provide illuminating insights into Mozart's creative process and the functions of eighteenth-century opera. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A clear and concise treatment of a complex topic
Any complete study of the life and works of Mozart would take thousands of pages and hundreds of recordings just to crack the surface of this subject. Even merely the operas of Mozart cannot be adequately handled in a single volume (let alone the number of recordings involved). So on a much more modest scale, we have Andrew Steptoe's "The Mozart-Da Ponte Operas" from the Clarendon Paperbacks division of Oxford University Press (1988, reprinted 2001).

For those wondering about that title, Lorenzo Da Ponte was the fascinating character who wrote the libretti to three of Mozart's greatest operas. In fact, the subtitle of this book is "The Cultural and Musical Background to 'Le Nozze di Figaro,' 'Don Giovanni,' and 'Cosi fan tutte,' but the book does not even get to those works until page 98. Roughly the first third of the book gives us an excellently organized and clear background to the works and the chapter titles will tell you exactly what I mean: "The Social Context: Vienna and Her Ruler," "Musicians, Audience, and Opera in Mozart's Time," "Mozart and Vienna," and "Mozart and His Personal Circle." The next chapter deals with Da Ponte and the opera buffa tradition, and we finally have what we need to understand more fully what Mozart's audiences saw in these works that are all but lost to us.

The sixth chapter talks about "Cosi fan tutte" and how it reflected the moral climate of the day, while the next one discusses how Mozart treated the buffa plot from the musical standpoint. The remaining three chapters handle each of the Mozart-Da Ponte collaborations, and there are detailed synopses of the works in the appendix.

Although I have read most of this material before, I have never seen it put in so well-organized a fashion; and my next move is to reread it, putting margin notes in along the way. I plan to make much use of this book in my opera seminars, and the general reader (who will need some rudimentary knowledge of music to understand at least parts of this book) will find in it many a key to a deeper understanding of these three masterworks. ... Read more

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The Black Dog Music Library presents Georges Bizet's Carmen, featuring Grace Bumbry, Mirella Freni, and Jon Vickers and the Orchestre et Choeur du Theatre National de l'Opera, under the direction of Rafael Frubeck de Burgos. An Angel/EMI compact disc set, accompanied by the complete libretto with unabridged English translations and minute-by-minute commentary and information on the composer, the music, and the performance.Amazon.com Review
The story of Carmen, the fatalistic gypsy, and Don José, her murderoussoldier lover, is a perennial favorite of an overwhelming majority of operalovers. Carmen has it all: vivid characters, wonderful tunes, stirringcrowd scenes, and a setting that's just exotic enough without becomingoutlandish. The Black Dog Opera Library has issued a fine introduction tothis classic tragedy. This hardcover book (small enough to tuck into a handbagand take along to the opera) includes an essay that explores the opera's originsand performance history; a plot synopsis; a libretto in French and English,with a running commentary on the action; and, on two compact discs, a completerecording of the opera itself. It's a very attractive package forthe price.

The recording, made in 1969-70, stars mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry as theeponymous gypsy; an incredibly intense Jon Vickers as Don José; sopranoMirella Freni, in melting voice, as his would-be wife; and Kostas Paskalis asa dark-voiced Escamillo. Rafael Fruehbeck de Burgos conducts his soloists, the chorus, and the orchestra of the Theatre National de l'Opera in idiosyncraticfashion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

An Introduction To Opera, A Monumental Recording
I have said it before and I will say it again. The Black Dog Opera Library series contains quality opera recordings, top-notch singers and orchestras, and as a bonus, liner notes and commentary on the opera, providing background information on the composer and the time period. In this remarkable book, we are treated to the greatest recording of Bizet's opera, Carmen. It was recorded 1969-70, and stars Jon Vickers, Grace Bumbry and Kostas Paskalis. The opera is timeless and has retained its popularity for more than a century. MTV has produced its own version, calling it a hip-hop-opera, there is talk of doing a musical-style rendition, and in the 50's, Carmen Jones with an all black cast did an incredible job of translating the songs into English with the help of Rogers and Hammestein. Carmen is based on the French writer Prosper Merimme's dark novella. It tells the story of a Spanish Gypsy woman who works undercover as a cigarette maker in Seville. In reality, she works for contraband smugglers who are constantly on the road. Don Jose is the soldier whose regiment is stationed by the factory. After arresting Carmen for a catfight, she seduces him and he falls madly in love with her, a love that later becomes consumed with obscession. Carmen convinces Don Jose to join her fellow smugglers and they travel across Spain. For love of her, Don Jose has abandoned his regiment and his fiancee, Micaela, the polar opposite of Carmen- she is a Christian-bred, homely woman. When Carmen tires of Don Jose, she abandons him for the more attractive champion bullfighter Escamillo. During a bullfight, Carmen confronts Don Jose and makes it clear she no longer loves him. In a jealous crime of passion, Don Jose stabs Carmen to death.

Rafael Burgos conducts a supremely effective orchestra who truly brings out the originality, drama, melody and intensity of Bizet's score. From the Overture, which concludes with its fatalistic theme, to each of the Spanish-style dances, among them Habanera, Seguidilla and Gypsy Song (all arias for Carmen), the soft melody of the Prelude to the final act and the concluding final scene, are all magnificent interpretation. The singers, individually, are fine actor/singers. Tenor Jon Vickers, who has a vast repertoire, including Wagner, brings a more realistic approach to Don Jose. He is passionate, he is obscessed and determined to have Carmen come what may. His Wagnerian intensity are self-evident in his arguments with Carmen and in the final scene of her murder, especially striking in his "Ainsi, le salut de mon ame" "And so I am to lose my heart". His Flower Song "La Fleur" is a fresh new rendition, not ending with a high, strong note as typical tenors do, but a soft high, B-flat, effectively producing the effect that he is genuinely in love, but obscessed and haunted by, Carmen.

Grace Bumbry's Carmen is her best role. She is assertive, she is seductive, flirtatious and dangerous. She is the original femme fatale. But it's clear that Bizet intended for Carmen to bring about her own fate. Her signature aria, "Habanera" compares her to a rebellious bird of freedom, a lawless Gypsy child and boasts that her love belongs to no one man. Her Gypsy Song is full of fire and mischief. But aside from these playful arias, Carmen has serious moments in the opera. Among them is the scene in which she reads the death card. "Toujours, Le Morte" (Always death) is the refrain and the lush lyricism and seriousness of her aria equals to any soprano aria that was in vogue even during Bizet's time. Her final scene, in which she is stabbed by the angry Don Jose, is her best moment. She confronts him with dignity and strength. If she is to die, she will die because she has willed it, in fact, she states it so expressively in the lines "Je sais bien que tu me tueras, mas que je vive ou que je muere, non, non, je ne tu cedarai pas ! (I know that you are going to kill me, but whether I live or I die, no, no, I will never give in to you!) Note her dramatic high register on the words "non, non,". She again asserts her free will when she says to Don Jose "Jamais Carmen ne cedera! Libre elle est nee et libre elle mourra ! ( Never will Carmen yield! She was born free and she will die free!). Kostas Paskalis, a Greek baritone, was overlooked as a fine singer during his time, for he was shadowed by baritones such as Sherril Milnes; but Paskalis is a fine interpretor of Escamillo, full of bravado and masculine energy. His crowning moment is not in "Toreador" but in the duel with Don Jose in the last act. This opera has it all. And I recommend this particular product to those interested in opera for the first time. For opera buffs this is also a treat.

The Greatet Carmen Of Them All
Carmen is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable operas in the world. There have been many fine recordings in the 20th century and even in the 19th century. Maria Callas (considered by many to be the greatest soprano ever sang the role), Teresa Berganza has sang the role, Tatiana Troyanos, Jessie Norman and various other sopranos who are drawn to the terrific role. Georges Bizet is remembered for this masterpiece, which he intended to be an opera-comique. It was not meant to be a comedy, for the intensity of the fatal tragedy of Prosper Merimee's short novel is superbly captured. Rather, it was meant to be taken as a form of drama, with spoken dialogue, song and dance, and no recitatives. Today, the leading opera houses accomodate this original intended version but many still keep the recitatives that later revisers added, making Carmen more in lines with Italian grand opera. Nevertheless, this fine recording is the best and the original Carmen. Grace Bumbry (mezzo-soprano), whose debut as Venus in the Salzburg Festival presentation of Wagner's Tannhauser made headlines, is the ultimate Carmen. Her voice is rich, dark, powerful, lyric and intense. She is Carmen, and I can think of no other singer who can better fit the role. John Vickers sings Don Jose with passion, elegance and intense emotions, although many will argue that Placido Domingo sings the role better. Vickers still pulls a superb performance. Kostas Paskalis, a Greek baritone, is a terrific bullfighter Escamillo. The conductor Raphael Burgos is wondrous in his orchestration of the score, intense in the fatalism of the fate theme, the dynamic overture, the tender moments between Don Jose and Micaela (Mirella Freni who does a passable performance). the choruses, and the Gypsy/Spanish folk melodies, among them Habanera and Seguidilla. This is a must have for avid Carmen lovers. The story will stay with us always. A seductive Gypsy in 19th century Spain seduces a gentleman soldier Don Jose, engaged to marry the good-hearted Micaela, but he abandons her, his regiment, and follows Carmen and her merry band of smugglers. Soon, Carmen tires of Don Jose and sets her eyes on the dashing bullfighter champion, Escamillo. At the bullfight, Carmen and Don Jose confront for a final scene, in which, against the background of the bullfight and a swirling score, Carmen declares her independence and tells Don Jose she wants nothing with him. The obscessed and mad Don Jose stabs her, appropriately enough when the bull in the arena is slaughtered. The opera comes to an end and we the audience are left with the first verisimo and realistic opera of intense tragedy, loving the music and worshipping the grandeur of the whole thing. Five Stars For this Black Dog Opera Library Recording. Also to be recommended in the series are La Boheme, Aida, The Flying Dutchman, The Magic Flute and La Traviata.

Highly Recommended
This is a terrific value.Gives you a complete understanding of the opera, libretto and music.

Terrific Package and a Bargain
The Black Dog Opera Library series are beautifully packaged and way underpriced. They each contain 2 CDs of the complete opera in the inside covers of a compact hardcover book whcih contains photos and commentary, as well as an annotated libretto in the original language and English translation, referenced to the CD, and notes and photos of the main performers and conductor. The performances are usually classic ones and though not necessarily recorded in the digital age they all sound gorgeous. I have only been able to find 4 (Magic Flute, Aida, La Boheme, and Carmen) and wish there were more. The only flaws in my opinion are that there is no information regarding the date or location of the performances nor is there a complete cast listing. This Carmen features legendary opera star Grace Bumbry in the title role ... Read more

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The early 19th century was a period of acute transition in operatic tradition and style, when time-honored practices gave way to the developing aesthetics of Romanticism, the rise of the tenor overtook the falling stars of the castrati, and the heroic, the masculine, and the feminine were profoundly reconfigured. These transformations resounded in operatic plot structures as well; the happy resolution of the 18th century twisted into a tragic 19th-century finale with the death of the helpless and innocent heroine -- and frequently her tenor hero along with her. Female voices which formerly had sung en travesti, or basically in male drag, opposite their female character counterparts then took on roles of the second woman, a companion and foil to the death-bound heroine rather than her romantic partner. In Voicing Gender, Naomi André skillfully traces the development of female characters in these first decades of the century, weaving in and around these changes in voicings and plot lines, to define an emergent legacy in operatic roles.

Customer Reviews (2)

A good book for my research
This book is well written and was very helpful in my research for an independent study that I am doing for college credit.The writing style was interesting and held my attention.

Welcome addition to the literature
Voicing Gender is a beautifully written and meticulously researched addition to the growing body of scholarship on women in opera.Naomi Andre has made much-needed, insightful connections between castrati, travesti, and women's characters -- these insights are firmly grounded in opera of the nineteenth century but resonate throughout opera of the twentieth century as well.This book is strongly recommended for Women in Music, Opera, and Gender and Performance studies. A thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating read. ... Read more

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The Black Dog Music Library presents Guiseppe Verdi's Aida, featuring Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Mario Sereni, and Grace Bumbry and the Coro e Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma under the direction of Zubin Mehta. An Angel/EMI compact disc set, accompanied by the complete libretto with unabridged English translations and minute-by-minute commentary and information on the composer, the music, and the performance.Amazon.com Review
Giuseppe Verdi's masterful Aida is carried much more by the music than by the story line (enslaved Ethiopian princess loves Egyptiangeneral, wins him away from Egyptian princess, gets him to betray his country,and then elects to die with him).The splendidarias and choruses, andthe pathos and heroic bombast of Verdi's score are unmatched.Here, BlackDog Opera Library offers a highly affordable and reasonably comprehensiveguide to the production. The volume contains an interesting and well-written essay, lots ofpictures, the libretto in both English and Italian, and a complete recordingof the opera on compact disc.

The energetic recording, made by EMI/Angel Records in 1967 andremastered for release on CD in 1979, offers the laser-voiced Aidaof Birgit Nilsson, abandoning her Nordic Strauss-Wagner mantle in favorof the more Italianate vocalism of the Ethiopian princess. If it's not hervery best role, the power that Nilsson brings to the part is impressive. This recording would be worth owning simply for the outstanding contribution of tenor Franco Corelli, who is at the top of his formas a clarion-voiced Radames. The fine Amneris and Amonasro of mezzo-sopranoGrace Bumbry and baritone Mario Sereni, respectively, are also standouts.Zubin Mehta conducts his soloists, the chorus, and the orchestra ofthe Teatro dell'Opera di Roma with youthful enthusiasm. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE, EXCELLENT PRESENTATION, BUT...
My five stars are for the performance and the book. All opera recordings should come in this format. But the cd copies are bad and will be short-lived, they easily loose their coating.

The Greatest Aida Ever Made
Wow!! Wow!! O my God! I just heard this album and my jaw dropped.Why it so many critic snub this recording ? It's the best Aida on record. I think it has to do with the fact it's very rare and more of a collector's piece as well overshadowed by more popular editions- i.e. Placido Domingo/Leontine Price, Jon Vickers..Pavoratti..Montserrat Caballe etc. But the cast in this album can not be more perfect. Birgit Nilsson was a grand lady of the opera- with a voice that cut through great orchestras, with dramatic integrity in her stage performances (she was as much as an actress as she was a singer and in this way she was like Maria Callas). It is true that she is far more recognized for her Wagner heroines- she is the best Isolde and Brunhilde, but her Wagnerian voice, so high, so powerful, is perfect for such diva roles as Aida. Verdi wrote the role for soprano di forzas which Birgit Nillson delivers with electrifying prowess. She was trained in Italian as well, which people seem to forget. Her Italian voice is rich, powerful, with a high top and generous bottom. She gets into characters with passionate intensity as well. Has anyone ever heard Turandot ? It's the best! So intense and powerful. And her Tosca is breathtaking. She also sang in Mozart's Don Giovanni starred opposite Leontine Price and the famous bass Cesare Siepi in that one. She can do the Italian roles as good as the rest of them!! There is also her powerful interpretation of Turandot and Tosca. So there you have it. Her Italian was as dynamic as her German. Franco Corelli is an awesome Radames, with hot-blooded, masculine energy and lyrical moments of love and grief. He can be a tough guy and a sensitive lover. "Celeste Aida" is superbly done, even if not sung as written. His Tomb Scene at the end is incredible. Grace Bumbry is the best Amneris, and she sang the role numerous times which made her an expert on it. She has a dignity of her own in the role and she is not as scary or bitchy as Rita Gorr's interpretation. Bumbry's perfect. You can also hear her as Amneris in the Leontine Price/Placido Domingo version conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. This is truly a great recording and will have you wanting to get other recordings of its amazing lead singers. Certainly Franco Corelli is a magnet of opera lovers with his excellent artistry. He sang with Birgit Nilsson in the greatest operas of their careers- Puccini's Turandot and Tosca which are also available at Amazon.com and I strongly urge you seek them out. Their Aida is mind-blowing.

The sound to this recording been digitally remastered from the old LP and sound fresh, powerful and moving. The Black Dog Opera Library series offers the best in opera to a beginner who takes interest in the world of opera or to fans who are already converted. It does more for the novice, however. My first of these "cd-books" was Verdi's La Traviata starring Beverly Sills and Nicolai Gedda. This was indeed a perfect performance. This was followed by Bizet's Carmen starring Jon Vickers and Grace Bumbry..another winner! Then came Mozart's Magic Flute starring Peter Schreir, Anneliese Rothenberger, Kurt Moll, Walter Berry and Edda Moser. This is the best Magic Flute out there. Indeed, all the recordings on this series are of the highest calibre. This book comes with the libretto, pictures of Aidas in the past, and bios on Corelli, Nilsson and Bumbry. Go out and get it today!!!

Epic - Classic - Masterpiece - BRAVO!!!!!
I bought this as my first piece from the Black Dog Library in preparation for seeing the Vancouver BC Operas production in 2002.Black Dog Library is a must for everyone going to see an opera.Get this, listen to it, fall in love with the music and then see this opera live if you ever get the chance.This is opera at its best.After seeing the production live, I can't wait to see it again.And by listening to the cd's I can bring it right back to my mind and my heart.

Bravo Giuseppe, Bravo......

A Valuable Collection Piece
Brilliant voices of Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelliwith Orchestra e Coro Del Teatro dell' Opera di Roma under Zubin Mehta. A marvelous studio recording without audience noises. A number of stage photos of majorperformances and introduction of Verdi and the writing of AIDA. Two CD'swith the complete opera with complete libretto in Italian and English. Agreat value. A must-have.

This series is a wonderful experience for new opera fans.
The historical account and the story help the person new to opera appreciate the opera.The sound is of high quality.I only wish Amazon carried the full series of The Black Dog Opera Library. ... Read more

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Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande - A Guide to the Opera with Musical Examples from the Score is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Lawrence Gilman is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Lawrence Gilman then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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This comprehensive analytical study of the Phantom of the Opera proposes answers to the question, “why do we keep needing this story told and retold in the Western world?” by revealing the history of deep cultural tensions that underlie the novel and each of its major adaptations. Using extensive historical and textual evidence and drawing on perspectives from several theories of cultural studies, this book argues that we need this tale told and reconfigured because it provides us ways to both confront and disguise how we have fashioned our senses of identity in the Western middle class. The Phantom of the Opera —in varying ways over time—turns out, like the “Gothic” tradition it extends, to be deeply connected to Western self-fashioning in the face of conflicted attitudes about class, gender, race, religious beliefs, Fruedian psychology, economic and international tensions, and especially the shifting and permeable boundaries between “high” and “low” culture. This book should interest all students of the history of Western culture, Gothic fiction, opera, musical theater, and film.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A very extensive look at the Phantom
This is the most extensive, in-depth analysis you can find on the Phantom.It's not just a psychoanalytic reading though, and Dr. Hogle looks at all manifestations of the phantom-but especially the book which started it all.He provides great insights into the underlying meanings of the text and why we are ultimately intrigued by the man who becomes a phantom.He has an interesting theory on how the carnivalesque infects the bourgeois opera, the underlying class struggle within the novel, and the identity formation of various characters. With all the pop culture junk out there, it is very refreshing to have a book I can actually use for research.Very much for those who utilize literary theory, gothic theory, psychoanalytic readings of literature.However, for those die-hard "phans" of the musical, this is a difficult book.If you can get past the academic writing, you'll find some of the most interesting things about the Phantom you didn't know.As far as his analysis of other adaptations of the phantom, including the broadway play, I did not find those as important.

OK...for researchers
This book is very dry and full of "Freudian" suggestions...but this only stands to reason as the original novel (by Gaston Leroux published in 1911) was written during the height of the Freudian belief system....
I would not discredit this work in any way, other than to say it's not a "leisure read" or a bit of foolish, fluffy "PhanFiction" by any means.Those who wish to try it, do so...but be warned...it's more of a university level text that could very easily be used as an assigned text for psychology majors.It's definitely NOT for the silly "Phantom Phan" sect (and this text is often rejected by them).
Whether you buy into Freud and his ideas or not, remember than Leroux was a child of that era and his original novel often depicts many Freudian undertones.

Not easily accessible
Hogle's book is written using dense professorial obsurantism. Readers will need an outstanding education and exceptional literary sensitivity to understand what the good professor is trying to exposit.One professional reviewer stated that the author's approach to his subject was "strenuous and original".I couldn't agree more."Strenuous" completely describes not only this work but also the process of deciphering what it is that Hogle has to say.While it is an in depth and intensely researched look at the implications of this story for western society throughout the past century, it trades psychological insight into the cultural phenomenon for a more contextual social analysis.The personal psychological impact of the story for readers is something he seems to approach only distantly.Unfortunate, because this would give greater insight into the larger social ramifications.Also, Hogle can be repetitive with themes during the course of his analysis of the subject.I have praise only for his commentary on the original Leroux novel, which is insightful and meaningful.His commentary on the remainder of re-adaptations of the original novel ranges from good to weak.This is nowhere more apparent than in his discussion of what he calls, "the most important... renovelization of the original book" referring to the novel by Susan Kay.Here he attempts to prove, in less than four pages, a thesis that is both absurd and ill supported, despite the importance he himself has attributed to the work.Overall, his book is something that those persons enraptured with the story should avoid and that literary scholars should approach with appropriate discernment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Season for a new generation!
As William Goldman's landmark book The Season so well captured Broadway of the late 1960s, so does Broadway Stories capture Broadway of the 1990s.The similarity between the two books is quite obvious, and while The Seasonends up being a little more profound, Marty Bell's book is extremelyentertaining and informative.Each chapter of the book focuses on adifferent creative force:An actor or actress, a director, or achoreographer, and how their triumphs (or tragedies) during the 1991-1992season helped contribute to Broadway.The backstage stories are amust-read for any theatre enthusiast, though Bell does not succeed atmaking biographical information on his subjects an organic part of hisstorytelling, and that really gets in the way of his otherwise well-writtenchronicles.A great companion piece to The Season or wonderful in its ownright, you should definitely read Broadway Stories.

Fascinating Book
This is a well-written, fascinating book that gives real insights into the inner workings of Broadway.I agree with the previous reviewer that this should be a "must have" for anyone interested in Broadway andmusical theatre.

I OWN OVER TWENTY BOOKS ON THEATRE: THIS IS THE BEST
I almost don't want to give this a "10," for fear your expectations will be too high.(Do we remember "Forrest Gump";I went to that one thinking I'd die and come back as Lea Salonga.No, this one is definitely a keeper.It's a collection of 10-12 interviews of Broadway actors: from large, black men to small, waif- like children, kudos to Marty Bell for interviewing such an eclectic group of performers!It's a page turner...I read it again and again!Trust me...DON'T MISS THIS ONE! ... Read more

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Opera can reveal something fundamental about a film, and film can do the same for an opera, argues Marcia J. Citron. Structured by the categories of Style, Subjectivity, and Desire, this volume advances our understanding of the aesthetics of the opera/film encounter. Case studies of a diverse array of important repertoire including mainstream film, opera-film, and postmodernist pastiche are presented. Citron uses Werner Wolf's theory of intermediality to probe the roles of opera and film when they combine. The book also refines and expands film-music functions, and details the impact of an opera's musical style on the meaning of a film. Drawing on cinematic traditions of Hollywood, France, and Britain, the study explores Coppola's Godfather trilogy, Jewison's Moonstruck, Nichols's Closer, Chabrol's La Cérémonie, Schlesinger's Sunday, Bloody Sunday, Boyd's Aria, and Ponnelle's opera-films. ... Read more

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James Reaney is one of Canada's favourite poets and playwrights; at the iontersection of his dramatic and poetic talents is Scripts, a collection of musical writings. There are nine complete works here, including the chamber opera Night-blooming Cereus, the poetry/music collage (and Governor General's Award winner) Twelve Letters to a Small Town, the Canada Dot, Canada Dash trilogy and operas Shivaree , Taptoo! and Serinette. Many of these pieces have been published individually, but none are in print, and they have never been amassed.

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Gerhard's links between grand opera and city life are sometimes more imaginative than convincing ("urbanized perceptions" account for the exaggerated depiction of characters, since their outward appearance, as hard to read as that of "anonymous passers-by in the streets of Paris," was no longer useful as a guide). But he doesn't oversell these operas; he assesses their virtues and their considerable limitations. He persuasively defends the accomplishments of the much-derided Meyerbeer. And though this book is intended for readers with some grounding in the subject, he helpfully includes synopses of these less-than-canonical works. --David Olivenbaum ... Read more

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Exploring the dynamic yet problematic context of musical drama in Rome, this study probes opera's relationship to modernity during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. Opera instigated a range of discourses, most notably among Rome's Academy of Arcadians, whose apprehension towards opera refracted larger aesthetic and cultural debates, and socio-political tensions. Tcharos presents a unique perspective, engaging opera as a historical force that established a sphere of influence across several genres and matrices of culture. The juxtaposition of opera against the prominent forms of the oratorio, serenata and cantata illustrates opera's constitutive role in a trans-genre cultural matrix, where the dialogical connections between musico-dramatic forms vividly capture the historicism, nostalgia, contradiction and cultural reform that opera inspired. By illuminating other genres as reactionary sites of music and drama, Opera's Orbit boldly reconstructs opera's eighteenth-century critical turn. ... Read more

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Hans Pfitzner's `musical legend' Palestrina is considered in the German-speaking countries to be one of the supreme masterpieces of music, and yet it is all but unknown elsewhere. The opera, first performed in 1917, tells the story of the composer Palestrina, his struggle to compose following the death of his wife and in the face of anti-musical decrees from the Church, and his eventual composition of the Missa Papae Marcelli, which, it is said, was dictated to him by angles and reconciled the Church to contrapuntal music. The story, set against the historical background of the Council of Trent, is an allegory of the individual artist in society, as well as a statement of Pfitzner's own beliefs about the musical climate of his time. Toller discusses the music and the dramatic structure, and presents a comprehensive introduction to the background material in the many diverse fields encompassed by the opera. ... Read more

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Musical Symbolism in the Operas of Debussy and Bartók explores the means by which two early 20th century operas - Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (1902) and Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1911) - transformed the harmonic structures of the traditional major/minor scale system into a new musical language. It also looks at how this language reflects the psychodramatic symbolism of the Franco-Belgian poet, Maurice Maeterlinck, and his Hungarian disciple, Béla Balázs. These two operas represent the first significant attempts to establish more profound correspondences between the symbolist dramatic conception and the new musical language. Duke Bluebeard's Castle is based almost exclusively on interactions between pentatonic/diatonic folk modalities and their more abstract symmetrical transformations (including whole-tone, octatonic, and other pitch constructions derived from the system of the interval cycles). The opposition of these two harmonic extremes serve as the basis for dramatic polarity between the characters as real-life beings and as instruments of fate. The book also explores the new musico-dramatic relations within their larger historical, social psychological, philosophical, and aesthetic contexts. ... Read more

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Indexes 1,605 titles by 627 composers. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more