Nineteenth-century italian opera from Rossini to Puccini

Amadeus Press

1995

xix, 259 p.

9780931340826

Contents:Pt. I. The Librettos;ch. 1. General chacteristics;Librettists;Genres;Sources of subject matter;Settings;Characters;Styles;ch. 2.: Principal themes;Love;Death;Religion;Politics and society;The irrational;ch. 3. Stylistic evolution and boundaries;The Classical tradition;Romanticism;Verismo;The Censor;pt. II. Music;ch. 4. Composers;Background and formative years;Output;Stylistic overview;ch. 5. The voice;Italian vocal style;Voice categories;From Recitative to Canto fiorito;The chorus;ch. 6. The orchestra;The instruments;Principal symphonic passages;The functions and effects of orchestration;ch. 7. Form and language;Structure;Meoldy;Harmony;Foreign influences;pt. III. Performance;ch. 8. Administration'Opera houses;Birth of the Spectacle;Repertoire;ch. 9. Interpreters;Singers;Instrumentalists and conductors;Dancers;ch. 10. The public;Different categories of spectators;Audience tastes and behavior.

Intended for the performer and general music lover as well as for students and musicologists, this three-part retrospective of Italian opera of the romantic era focuses on the settings, characters, and styles of the librettos; the voices, orchestration, and formal structure of the music; and the contemporary exigencies of the performance itself, moving from behind-the-scenes administration and artistry to the front-and-center interpreters and the audiences they played to

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