Publisher Description

This is the first collection of essays to explore the wide dimensions and influence of eighteenth-century opera. In a series of fresh articles by leading scholars in the field, new perspectives are offered on the important figures of the day, including Handel, Vivaldi, Gluck, Rameau and Mozart, and on the fundamental problems of creation, revision, borrowing, influence and intertextuality. Allied arts, notably painting, the novel, ballet, and the spoken stage are also examined in their relationship to the development of opera. The book contains numerous rare illustrations, and will be of interest to scholars and students of opera and theater history.

Table of Contents

List of plates; Library abbreviations; Introduction Thomas Bauman; Part I. Prologue: 1. Pastoral and musical magic in the birth of opera Gary Tomlinson; Part II. Opera and the Visual Arts: 2. Moralizing at the tomb: Poussin's Arcadian shepherds in eighteenth-century England and Germany Thomas Bauman; 3. Dr Burney, the bear, and the knight: E. F. Burney's Amateurs of Tye-Wig Music Kerry S. Grant; 4. New light(s) on Weber's Wolf's Glen scene Anthony Newcomb; Part III. Serious Opera: 5. Sinfonia and drama in early eighteenth-century opera seria Reinhard Strohm; 6. The dramatic role of the chorus in French opera: evidence for the use of gesture, 1670-1770 Mary Cyr; 7. Transforming opera seria: Verazi's innovations and their impact on opera in Italy Marita Petzoldt McClymonds; Part IV. Handel and Gluck: 8. Handel's Serse Winton Dean; 9. The 'sweet song' in Demofoonte: a Gluck borrowing from Handel John H. Roberts; 10. Zephire et Flore: a 'galant' early ballet by Angiolini and Gluck Bruce Alan Brown; 11. Gluck's Iphigenia operas: sources and strategies Julie E. Cumming; Part V. Concerning Mozart: 12. The 'storm' music of Beaumarchais' Barbier de Seville Walter E. Rex; 13. On Don Giovanni, No. 2 Joseph Kerman; 14. Leopold II, Mozart, and the return to a Golden Age John A. Rice; Part VI. Epilogue: 15. From fairy tale to opera in four moves (not so simple) Richard Taruskin; Index.

Review

'... an enormously informative book.' Musical Times "...this collection can be seen to have something for everbody wishing to delve into the artistic world of the eighteenth century. If the title is slightly misleading, this is more than made up for by the breadth of the subject matter and the approach of the authors to an extremely complex period." The Opera Journal "...because most of the material is so inherently interesting, readers are less likely to feel misled by the book's title than delightfully surprised by the rich variety of topics it encapsulates. Editors Thomas Bauman and Maria Petzoldt McClaymonds sustain a unified scholarly tone from cover to cover without stifling the individuality of style and subject matter found in fifteen contributions." E. Thomas Glasow, Opera Quarterly

Review Quote

"...this collection can be seen to have something for everbody wishing to delve into the artistic world of the eighteenth century. If the title is slightly misleading, this is more than made up for by the breadth of the subject matter and the approach of the authors to an extremely complex period." The Opera Journal

Promotional "Headline"

This collection of essays explores the wide dimensions and influence of eighteenth-century opera.

Description for Bookstore

This is a collection of essays to explore the wide dimensions and influence of eighteenth-century opera. In a series of articles by leading scholars in the field, a range of perspectives are offered on the important figures of the day.

Description for Library

This is a collection of essays to explore the wide dimensions and influence of eighteenth-century opera. In a series of articles by leading scholars in the field, a range of perspectives are offered on the important figures of the day.

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