Looking at operatic history from new and unexpected angles, this book examines the ways the operatic canon has been reshaped at key moments in the history of the form. Written with clarity and wit, it provides a richly rewarding experience for operagoers and scholars alike. Opera in History examines the achievements of composers such as Monteverdi, Handel, and Rossini, whose operas were long neglected because of changes in performance practices, audience tastes, and musical aesthetics. It also looks at such well-established works as Wagner s Ring and Verdi s Aida in unconventional ways. Thus, the Ring emerges as a product of nineteenth-century philology, Aida, as an embodiment of the new science of archaeology.
- ISBN10 0804731055
- ISBN13 9780804731058
- Publish Date 12 March 1998
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 1 October 2009
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Stanford University Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 378
- Language English