How did "voice" become a metaphor for selfhood in the Western imagination? The Lyric Myth of Voice situates the emergence of an ideological connection between voice and subjectivity in late eighteenth-century Italy, where long-standing political anxieties and new notions of cultural enlightenment collided in the mythical figure of the lyric poet-singer. Ultimately, music and literature together shaped the singing voice into a tool for civilizing modern Italian subjects. Drawing on a range of approaches and frameworks from historical musicology to gender studies, disability studies, anthropology, and literary theory, Jessica Gabriel Peritz shows how this ancient yet modern myth of voice attained interpretable form, flesh, and sound. The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the AMS 75 PAYS Fund of the American Musicological Society, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Nineteenth-century French grand opera was a musical and cultural phenomenon with an important and widespread transnational presence in Europe. Primary attention in the major studies of the genre has so far been on the Parisian context for which the majority of the works were originally written. In contrast, this volume takes account of a larger geographical and historical context, bringing the Europe-wide impact of the genre into focus. The book presents case studies including analyses of grand opera in small-town Germany and Switzerland; grand operas adapted for Scandinavian capitals, a cockney audience in London, and a court audience in Weimar; and Portuguese and Russian grand operas after the French model. Its overarching aim is to reveal how grand operas were used - performed, transformed, enjoyed and criticised, emulated and parodied - and how they became part of musical, cultural and political life in various European settings. The picture that emerges is complex and diversified, yet it also testifies to the interrelated processes of cultural and political change as bourgeois audiences, at varying paces and with local variations, increased their influence, and as discourses on language, nation and nationalism influenced public debates in powerful ways.

Opera Coaching: Professional Techniques for the Repetiteur, Second Edition, is an update to the first practical guide for opera coaches when working with opera singers to help them meet the physical and vocal demands of a score in order to shape a performance. Opera coaching remains a mystery to many musicians. While an opera coach (or repetiteur) is principally tasked with ensuring singers sing the right notes and words, the coach's purview extends well beyond pitches and pronunciation. The opera coach must have a full understanding of human physiognomy and the human voice, as well as a knowledge of the many languages used in Western vocal music and over four centuries of opera repertoire - all to recognize what must happen for success when a singer steps on stage. NEW to this second edition: New and updated chapters throughout, featuring new discussions on large ensembles, twenty-first-century demands, and more. Deeper investigation of the styles of and problems posed by particular operas. Revised chapter structure that allows for an expanded and progressive emphasis on technical work. Modern singers have bemoaned the scarcity of good vocal coaches and conductors - those who understand voices and repertoire alike. Opera Coaching: Professional Techniques for the Repetiteur, Second Edition, demystifies the role of the opera coach, outlining the obstacles facing both the opera singer and the coach who seeks to realize the performer's full potential.

Billy Budd, based on Herman Melville's nautical allegory, is one of Britten's most challenging operas. This comprehensive guide considers the work from both literary and musical viewpoints. Melville's novella is discussed, as is the interpretation given to the novella by the librettists E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier. A detailed synopsis guides the reader through the musical and dramatic action of the opera and in a chapter devoted to the music, Britten's distinctive technique of tonal symbolism is analyzed to demonstrate the effectiveness of his musical response to the dramatic suggestions of Melville's story. The most important critical writings on Billy Budd are represented by an expanded version of Donald Mitchell's 1979 notebook on the opera. A final chapter charts the opera's stage history and fluctuating critical reception.

This investigation offers new perspectives on Giuseppe Verdi's attitudes to women and the functions which they fulfilled for him. The book explores Verdi's professional and personal relationship with women who were exceptional within the traditional socio-sexual structure of patria potesta, in the context of women's changing status in nineteenth-century Italian society. It focusses on two women; the singers Giuseppina Strepponi, who supported and enhanced Verdi's creativity at the beginning of his professional life and Teresa Stolz, who sustained his sense of self-worth at its end. Each was an essential emotional benefactor without whom Verdi's career would not have been the same. The subject of the Strepponi-Verdi marriage and the impact of Strepponi's past deserve further detailed and nuanced discussion. This book demonstrates Verdi's shifting power-balance with Strepponi as she sought to retain intellectual self-respect while his success and control increased. The negative stereotypes concerning operatic 'divas' do not withstand scrutiny when applied either to Strepponi or to Stolz. This book presents a revisionist appraisal of Stolz through close examination of her letters. Revealing Stolz's value to Verdi, they also provide contemporary operatic criticism and behind-the-scenes comment, some excerpts of which are published here in English for the first time.

Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex is widely acknowledged as one of the most original musical theater works of the twentieth century. This clear and concise guide, the first ever written on the work, describes the plot, the music and the staging in close detail and provides a fully documented discussion of the origins of Oedipus Rex in Stravinsky's own work and thinking. By placing the work in its social context, the author paints a vivid picture of Parisian artistic politics in the twenties, from which emerged one of the richest and most suggestive works of modern times. The full libretto is provided, with a parallel translation.

Idomeneo, by common consent Mozart's greatest opera seria, is a rich synthesis of the dramatic potentialities of Italian opera seria, French tragedie lyrique, and recent German opera. It was composed for the finest orchestra in Germany and some excellent singers. Mozart's relish of the challenge and his problems with some performers and the bureaucracy are uniquely documented in his letters home and these form the basis of a vivid account of the genesis of the opera. A detailed synopsis relates the musical and dramatic action of the opera. Further chapters trace the historical development of its subject matter 'from myth to libretto' and chart the opera's performance history, including a description of Richard Strauss's 1931 reworking. Later chapters consider the opera's general structure and the musical forms, and analyse passages of particular interest.

Bizet's Carmen is probably the best known opera of the standard repertoire, yet its very familiarity often prevents us from approaching it with the seriousness it deserves. This Handbook explores the opera in a number of contexts, bringing to the surface the controversies over gender, race, class and musical propriety. After a study of Mérimée's story Carmen by Peter Robinson, Susan McClary examines the social tensions in nineteenth-century France that inform both that story and the opera, and traces the opera through its genesis and reception. The Handbook concludes with discussions of four films based on the opera. The volume contains a bibliography, music examples, and a synopsis and will be of interest to students, scholars, and operagoers.

Previous studies of Wagner's operas have tended to approach the works as chunks of autobiography, philosophical speculations or historical-political comments on the age in which they were written. Professor Dahlhaus dissociated himself from all such ventures. His aim is to reveal, by careful analysis of the works from Der fliegende Hollander to Parsifal, the dominant features of 'music drama' and how Wagner achieves such profound, unified effects. Professor Dahlhaus cites music examples only when they are germane to his argument and requires from his readers no more than a limited amount of technical musical knowledge. This is not, therefore, an exclusively specialist study. Rather it will help the enthusiastic beginner to come to terms with these great works of art as well as offering many valuable insights to the experienced Wagnerian. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of music history, theory, opera and philosophy.

The beautifully illustrated volume is an editorial tribute to the history of the Comunale Theatre in Bologna, a city institution of international fame. With previously unpublished and richly detailed images and complementary texts by Professor Piero Mioli, this publication celebrates the theatre's great and unique story. Also included is a rich photographic array from the theatre's historical archives featuring posters, stage photos, sketches, drawings and figurine plates, which have been hidden from public view, until now. Text in English and Italian.

This is the first book to be devoted to Mozart's opera, La clemenza di Tito. Rice considers the opera from a variety of historical and critical viewpoints. Tito is a political opera. The author examines its origins in the politically unstable Habsburg Empire of 1791, interpreting it as a response to revolutionary threats both inside and outside the empire. Tito is also a literary opera: much of its dramatic power lies in its libretto. Rice analyses Metastasio's libretto and the revised version that Mozart set. The volume explores aspects of Mozart's compositional process, the premiere in Prague, and subsequent critical reception through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In a concluding chapter, Rice reviews recent performances as well as scholarly research that sheds light on the interpretation of the opera. The volume, which contains illustrations of recent productions, a discography, and a bibliography, will be of interest to students, scholars and opera-goers.

Few operas have had more written about them than The Magic Flute, yet few are as often exposed to misguided comment - or to idiosyncratic productions. This book sets out to provide a straightforward account of Mozart's last opera, exposing the half-truths and legends that have proliferated since its first production in 1791. In the first chapter a hitherto unsuspected source for the opening scene is presented and Branscombe reveals the complex relationship between the stories, essays and stage-works on which the plot is based. The second chapter studies the intellectual background, with special attention to Freemasonry. A detailed synopsis follows, then the history of the composition, based on documentary evidence and, in the case of the autograph score, the paper-types used. Chapter 5 examines the identity of the librettist and the qualities of his work, and chapter 6 is a detailed study (by Erik Smith) of Mozart's music and more generally of his late style. Chapter 7 covers the first performance, the cast, early reception, and then the rapid growth in the opera's fame; an outline history of productions concludes the chapter. Anthony Besch discusses the nature of the challenge to the director presented by Die Zauberfloete and suggests how the problems can be overcome. The book contains illustrations, a synopsis, bibliography and discography and will be of interest to music students, scholars and opera-goers.

This book is a guide to Berg's second opera, Lulu, written in non-technical language and intended for those students and music lovers wishing to become familiar with one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century music. Jarman presents a clear and concise introduction to the musical language and to the intricate musical and dramatic structure of Berg's opera. The volume also examines the literary background, the genesis, composition, and tortuous posthumous career of the work. The final chapters survey the performance history and suggest a possible interpretation of this complex and challenging composition. An important feature of the book is the inclusion of source documents and critical responses to the opera. Illustrated with photographs from the premiere and from recent productions, the volume also includes a synopsis, bibliography, and discography.

This is a book on the best known of the Weill-Brecht collaborations which explores the extent and significance of the composer's contribution. After a detailed reconstruction of the work's genesis and continued revision over three decades, Stephen Hinton examines the spin-offs on which Weill and Brecht participated: the instrumental suite, the film, the lawsuit, the novel, and the musical and textual revisions of songs. In a survey of the stage history, Hinton pays particular attention to pioneering productions in Germany and Great Britain. Kim Kowalke provides an exhaustive account of the history of The Threepenny Opera in America, Geoffrey Abbott addresses questions concerning authentic performance practice, and David Drew analyses large-scale motivic relationships in the music. Among the earliest writings on the work reprinted here, those by Theodor W. Adorno, Ernst Bloch and Walter Benjamin appear for the first time in English translation. The book contains numerous illustrations, a discography, and music examples.

More than 40 years after her death, the legend of Maria Callas, "La Divina Assoluta," remains unsurpassed. Much has been written about her sensational opera career and fraught private life, from her definitive mastery of iconic opera roles to her love affairs and tantrums. The prototype for the 20th century celebrity diva, Callas emblematizes the cliche of tormented talent - genius in the ring with catastrophe. Her extraordinary voice, in particular, has become an object of cult-like adoration and cultural significance almost with a life of its own: as fetish object, as sophisticated sonic signifier, and most recently, as the lifeblood for a Callas hologram. Such adoration is not without consequences. When Callas is transformed into a vessel for such transcendent magic, it overshadows what is perhaps her most superhuman ability - the masterful technique she deployed to shape and craft her astounding instrument. Singing bodies are working bodies, enacting an intimate and complex form of artistic labor and cultural signification. Using one of Callas's first recital recordings from 1954, this book envisions each aria as a lens to examine various aspects of vocalization and cultural reception of the feminized voice in both classical and pop culture, from Homer's Sirens to Star Trek. With references to works by Marina Abramovic, Charles Baudelaire, Michel Chion, Wayne Koestenbaum, Greil Marcus, and Farah Jasmine Griffin, as well as films by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jonathan Demme, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, each chapter explores phenomena unique to the singing voice, including the operatic screaming point, the politics of listening, and the singing simulacrum.

The contributions to this handbook bring together a full-length study of Elektra in English. The volume examines the many facets of one of Richard Strauss's most complex operas. First, P. E. Easterling surveys the mythological background, while Karen Forsyth discusses Hofmannsthal's adaptation of his sources. The second part brings the music to the fore. Derrick Puffett offers an introductory essay and synopsis; Arnold Whittall considers the tonal and dramatic structure of the composition; Tethys Carpenter explores the musical language of the work in detail, with special focus given to part of the Klytaemnestra scene. The third part of the volume offers two contrasting critical essays: Carolyn Abbate provides an interpretation informed by her recent work on narrative, and Robin Holloway analyses Strauss's orchestration of the opera. The book also contains a discography and an appendix of excerpts from the Strauss-Hofmannsthal correspondence.

This first full-length study of Salome in English since Lawrence Gilman's (1907) moves from historical and literary analysis to critical appraisal and includes a synopsis, bibliography and discography.

This comprehensive guide to the opera explores its literary background and examines the Strauss-Hofmannsthal collaboration as an attempt to achieve the subtlety of the spoken theater on the operatic stage.

Alban Berg's Wozzeck is one of the most significant operas of the twentieth century. Douglas Jarman's study provides a clear and accessible introduction to this work, placing it in the context of the radical developments in musical language during the early decades of the century and of the development of Berg's own musical style. The book covers all aspects of the work. Early chapters are devoted to the history and discovery of the Buchner play Woyzeck on which Berg based the libretto and to the background and composition of the opera. A detailed synopsis takes the reader through the events on stage in relation to the structured musical effects. Particular attention is given in the subsequent chapter to the unique dramatic and musical design of the opera. In offering a possible interpretation of the work Douglas Jarman considers this closely organized structure in relation to the expressionistic language of the music. A final chapter charts the performances of the opera, in particular early productions, which are illustrated with many hitherto unpublished photographs from Berg's own lifetime. An important feature of the book is the inclusion of many important and otherwise unobtainable contemporary documents concerned with the play and the opera, includine Karl Emil Franzos's description of the reconstruction of the fragmented Buchner play and three commentaries by Berg himself on the opera. This comprehensive guide will be invaluable to the student and opera-goer wishing to unravel the musical and dramatic complecities of this important work.

A detailed documentary history of opera in Portugal from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the inauguration of the still existing Teatro de S. Carlos in 1793. This 1989 study shows how the introduction of opera into the country at the beginning of the century was connected with the recruitment of Italian singers and players during the reign of Joao V, even though the court's interest in opera was small and the activity of public opera houses was hampered by the church and the King himself. This study is valuable not only as a much-needed authoritative and thorough history of the Portuguese musical theatre in the eighteenth century, paralleling existing studies for all other major European operatic centres of the time, but also for the significant contribution it makes to the study of Italian opera with which it interconnects, and of musical theatre in general.

This is a series of studies of individual operas written for the opera-goer or record-collector as well as the student or scholar. Each volume has three main concerns: historical, analytical and interpretative. There is a detailed description of the genesis of each work, the collaboration between librettist and composer, and the first performance and subsequent stage history. A full synopsis considers the opera as a structure of musical and dramatic effects, and there is also a musical analysis of a section of the score. The analysis, like the history, shades naturally into interpretation: by a careful combination of new essays and excerpts from classic statements the editors of the handbooks show how critical writing about the opera, like the production and performance, can direct or distort appreciation of its structural elements. A final section of documents gives a select bibliography, a discography, and guides to other sources. Each book is published in both hard covers and as a paperback.

"The subject cannot fail!" exulted Verdi, when recommending Victor Hugo's play Le Roi s'amuse to his librettist. But the censors made every effort to stop it, and the baritone was not easily convinced that a hunchback role would suit him. Jonathan Keates gives a vivid insight into the composition of a masterpiece. Verdi long afterwards thought it his best work, and Roger Parker explains why. Peter Nichols, author of several bestselling books in Italy, picks out some of the peculiarly Italian attitudes and characters in the opera which make it timeless - and incredibly modern.

This analysis of the opera, as well as its social, cultural and musical context, progresses to an exploration of the comic possibilities of the classical style and opera buffa in the 1770s and 1780s.

This addition to the Cambridge Opera Handbooks series is also the first full-length study of Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail. It aims to familiarize the reader with all aspect of the work: Mozart's writing of the opera and its literary antecedents, its plot, its musical structure, its reception and performance history. The reader will find much that is new in Thomas Bauman's study. He discusses the opera in relation to other Oriental operas, in the light of eighteenth-centruy apprehensions of the East, and as an attempt to reconcile the conventions of German opera in the early 1780s with Viennese taste and Mozart's own maturing operatic aesthetic. The text is well illustrated with pictures and music examples and a full discography lists the available recordings of the opera. This will be essential reading for all who have an interest in Mozart's operas, whether as student, scholar or opera-lover.

New essays demonstrating and exploring the abiding fascination of Wagner's controversial work. Richard Wagner's Parsifal remains an inexhaustible yet highly controversial work. This "stage consecration festival play," as the composer described it, represents the culmination of his efforts to bring medieval myth and modern music together in a dynamic relationship. Wagner's engagement with religion--Buddhist as well as Christian--reaches a climax here, as he seeks through artistic means "to rescue the essence of religion by perceiving its mythical symbols . . . according to their figurative value, enabling us to see their profound, hidden truth through idealized representation." The contributors to this collection break fresh ground in exploring the text, the music, andthe reception history of Parsifal. Wagner's borrowings-and departures-from the medieval sources of the Grail legend, Wolfram's Parzival and Chretien's Perceval, are considered in detail, and the tensional relation of the work to Christianity is probed. New perspectives emerge that bear on the long genesis of the text and music, its affinities to Wagner's earlier works, particularly Tristan und Isolde, and the precise way in which the music was composed. Essays address the work's bold, modernistic musical language and its unprecedented soundscape involving hidden choruses and other unseen sources of sound. The turbulent, astonishing, and sometimes disturbing history of Parsifal performances from 1882 until 2004 is traced in vivid detail for the first time, demonstrating the abiding fascination exerted by this uniquely challenging work of art. Contributors: MaryA. Cicora, James M. McGlathery, Ulrike Kienzle, Warren Darcy, Roger Allen. William Kinderman and Katherine Syer teach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and often lead study seminars during the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.