The Walter Scott Operas

The Walter Scott Operas PDF Author: Jerome Mitchell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
The Walter Scott Operas is a study of the approximately 50 operas that are based on the works of Sir Walter Scott, who, except for Shakespeare, inspired more operas than any other writer. Professor Mitchell's scholarly method is literary-historical (rather than "critical") and unabashedly antiquarian. He shows what happened to a Scott novel when it was turned into an opera and how that opera compared and contrasted with others based on the same novel -- all this leading to a fresh slant on Scott's characters and the structure of his novels. The Scott operas are all products of the nineteenth century, and indeed span the century from Rossini's La Donna del Lago (1819) to several done in the 1890s. The operas vary in style from typical early nineteenth-century romantic opera and opera comique to the Wagner-influenced works of the latter part of the century. Each discussion of an opera begins with a brief account of its performance history, but the major part of the discussion is concerned with what "happened" to the novel (poem, novella, or historical work) when it was transformed into an opera. What did the librettist do to the original story -- how did he reshape it -- to make it something the operatic composer could felicitously handle? The concluding chapter brings together for final discussion the elements in Scott's works that are conducive to good opera -- the pictorial element; the theme of "opposing fanaticism," often brought vividly to life in one or more major scenes of drama; the well-drawn characters, from both high and low life; the theatrical direct discourse, including soliloquies. In addition, the concluding chapter tries to determine what influence the Scott operas have had on others now in the standard repertoire. Many parallels can be observed because of the use of certain operatic conventions that are part of the common stock of virtually all librettists and composers. Other parallels, however, are directly traceable to the Scott operas. - Jacket flap.

The Walter Scott Operas

The Walter Scott Operas PDF Author: Jerome Mitchell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
The Walter Scott Operas is a study of the approximately 50 operas that are based on the works of Sir Walter Scott, who, except for Shakespeare, inspired more operas than any other writer. Professor Mitchell's scholarly method is literary-historical (rather than "critical") and unabashedly antiquarian. He shows what happened to a Scott novel when it was turned into an opera and how that opera compared and contrasted with others based on the same novel -- all this leading to a fresh slant on Scott's characters and the structure of his novels. The Scott operas are all products of the nineteenth century, and indeed span the century from Rossini's La Donna del Lago (1819) to several done in the 1890s. The operas vary in style from typical early nineteenth-century romantic opera and opera comique to the Wagner-influenced works of the latter part of the century. Each discussion of an opera begins with a brief account of its performance history, but the major part of the discussion is concerned with what "happened" to the novel (poem, novella, or historical work) when it was transformed into an opera. What did the librettist do to the original story -- how did he reshape it -- to make it something the operatic composer could felicitously handle? The concluding chapter brings together for final discussion the elements in Scott's works that are conducive to good opera -- the pictorial element; the theme of "opposing fanaticism," often brought vividly to life in one or more major scenes of drama; the well-drawn characters, from both high and low life; the theatrical direct discourse, including soliloquies. In addition, the concluding chapter tries to determine what influence the Scott operas have had on others now in the standard repertoire. Many parallels can be observed because of the use of certain operatic conventions that are part of the common stock of virtually all librettists and composers. Other parallels, however, are directly traceable to the Scott operas. - Jacket flap.

The Afterlives of Walter Scott

The Afterlives of Walter Scott PDF Author: Ann Rigney
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199644012
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), once an immensely popular writer, is now largely forgotten. This book explores how works like Waverley, Ivanhoe, and Rob Roy percolated into all aspects of cultural and social life in the nineteenth century, and how his work continues to resonate into the present day even if Scott is no longer widely read.

The heart of Mid-Lothian

The heart of Mid-Lothian PDF Author: Sir Walter Scott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description


Twentieth-Century British Authors and the Rise of Opera in Britain

Twentieth-Century British Authors and the Rise of Opera in Britain PDF Author: Irene Morra
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317005856
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
This book is the first to examine in depth the contributions of major British authors such as W. H. Auden and E. M. Forster, as critics and librettists, to the rise of British opera in the twentieth century. The perceived literary values of British authors, as much as the musical innovations of British composers, informed the aesthetic development of British opera. Indeed, British opera emerged as a simultaneously literary and musical project. Too often, operatic adaptations are compared superficially to their original sources. This is a particular problem for British opera, which has become increasingly defined artistically by the literary sophistication of its narrative sources. The resulting collaborations between literary figures and composers have crucial implications for the development of both opera and literature. Twentieth-Century British Authors and the Rise of Opera in Britain reveals the importance of this literary involvement in operatic adaptation to literature and literary studies, to music and musicology, and to cultural and theoretical studies.

The Fair Maid of Perth

The Fair Maid of Perth PDF Author: Walter Scott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Scotland
Languages : en
Pages : 656

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Book Description


More Scott Operas

More Scott Operas PDF Author: Jerome Mitchell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
More Scott Operas examines some thirty operas based on the novels and poems of Sir Walter Scott that have come to light since publication of the author's widely reviewed earlier book, The Walter Scott Operas (1977), which discussed fifty Scott operas. There are chapters on an operatic setting of a Scott poem by a little known English composer who knew Wagner; on three operatic renditions of another poem, The Lord of the Isles; on Carl Loewe's opera Emmy, based on Kenilworth, and on an opera by a twentieth century Argentine composer based on the same novel; on a forgotten Italian Fair Maid of Perth opera that would rival Bizet's; and on two chamber operas by a composer-librettist who is alive and well and at home in Charleston, South Carolina. The book concludes with an intriguing account of Scott's night at the San Carlo Opera. Mitchell's approach is again that of a literary-historian than of a music critic or musicologist. He shows what happened to Scott's original poem or novel when it is changed into an opera and how that opera compares with others based on the same poem or novel. This approach leads to a fresh slant on Scott's characters and on the structure of his works, and it leads ultimately to our greater awareness and appreciation of Scott's art and of his impact on European culture.

Opera in the British Isles, 1875-1918

Opera in the British Isles, 1875-1918 PDF Author: Paul Rodmell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317085442
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 427

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Book Description
While the musical culture of the British Isles in the 'long nineteenth century' has been reclaimed from obscurity by musicologists in the last thirty years, appraisal of operatic culture in the latter part of this period has remained largely elusive. Paul Rodmell argues that there were far more opportunities for composers, performers and audiences than one might expect, an assertion demonstrated by the fact that over one hundred serious operas by British composers were premiered between 1875 and 1918. Rodmell examines the nature of operatic culture in the British Isles during this period, looking at the way in which opera was produced and 'consumed' by companies and audiences, the repertory performed, social attitudes to opera, the dominance of London's West End and the activities of touring companies in the provinces, and the position of British composers within this realm of activity. In doing so, he uncovers the undoubted challenges faced by opera in Britain in this period, and delves further into why it was especially difficult to make a breakthrough in this particular genre when other fields of compositional endeavour were enjoying a period of sustained growth. Whilst contemporaneous composers and commentators and later advocates of British music may have felt that the country's operatic life did not measure up to their aspirations or ambitions, there was still a great deal of activity and, even if this was not necessarily that which was always desired, it had a significant and lasting impact on musical culture in Britain.

The Urbanization of Opera

The Urbanization of Opera PDF Author: Anselm Gerhard
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226288574
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 540

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Book Description
Why do so many operas end in suicide, murder, and death? Why do many characters in large-scale operas exhibit neurotic behaviors worthy of psychoanalysis? Why are the legendary grands operas - much celebrated in their time - so seldom performed today?

Opera on Stage

Opera on Stage PDF Author: Lorenzo Bianconi
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226045919
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
The History of Italian Opera marks the first time a team of expert scholars has worked together to investigate the Italian operatic tradition in its entirety, rather than limiting its focus to individual eras or major composers and their masterworks. Including both musicologists and historians of other arts, the contributors approach opera not only as a distinctive musical genre but also as a form of extravagant theater and a complex social phenomenon-resulting in the sort of panoramic view critical to a deep and fruitful understanding of the art. Opera on Stage, the second book of this multi-volume work to be published in English-in an expanded and updated version-focuses on staging and viewing Italian opera, from the court spectacles of the late sixteenth century to modern-day commercial productions. Mercedes Viale Ferrero describes the history of theater and stage design, detailing the evolution of the art well into the twentieth century. Gerardo Guccini does the same for stage and opera direction and the development of the director's role as an autonomous creative force. Kathleen Kuzmick Hansell discusses the interrelationships between theatrical ballet and Italian opera, from the age of Venetian opera to the early twentieth century. The visual emphasis of all three contributions is supplemented by over one hundred illustrations, and because much of this material-on the more "spectacular" visual aspects of Italian opera-has never before appeared in English, Opera on Stage will be welcomed by scholars and opera enthusiasts alike.

Lucia Di Lammermoor

Lucia Di Lammermoor PDF Author: Gaetano Donizetti
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Operas
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description