Leonora's Last Act: Essays in Verdian Discourse
5/5
()
About this ebook
In these essays, Roger Parker brings a series of valuable insights to bear on Verdian analysis and criticism, and does so in a way that responds both to an opera-goer's love of musical drama and to a scholar's concern for recent critical trends. As he writes at one point: "opera challenges us by means of its brash impurity, its loose ends and excess of meaning, its superfluity of narrative secrets." Verdi's works, many of which underwent drastic revisions over the years and which sometimes bore marks of an unusual collaboration between composer and librettist, illustrate in particular why it can sometimes be misleading to assign fixed meanings to an opera. Parker instead explores works like Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La forza del destino, and Falstaff from a variety of angles, and addresses such contentious topics as the composer's involvement with Italian politics, the possibilities of an "authentic" staging of his work, and the advantages and pitfalls of analyzing his operas according to terms that his contemporaries might have understood.
Parker takes into account many of the interdisciplinary influences currently engaging musicologists, in particular narrative and feminist theory. But he also demonstrates that close attention to the documentary evidence--especially that offered by autograph scores--can stimulate equal interpretive activity. This book serves as a model of research and critical thinking about opera, while nevertheless retaining a deep respect for opera's continuing power to touch generations of listeners.
Read more from Roger L. Parker
Princeton Studies in Opera
Related to Leonora's Last Act
Titles in the series (10)
Puccini's Turandot: The End of the Great Tradition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Culture of Opera Buffa in Mozart's Vienna: A Poetics of Entertainment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBallet and Opera in the Age of Giselle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSiren Songs: Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Opera Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leonora's Last Act: Essays in Verdian Discourse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Richard Wagner, Fritz Lang, and the Nibelungen: The Dramaturgy of Disavowal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Metaphysical Song: An Essay on Opera Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mad Loves: Women and Music in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Search of Opera Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Vocal Apparitions: The Attraction of Cinema to Opera Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
Who's Afraid of Opera?: A Highly Opinionated, Informative, and Entertaining Guide to Appreciating Opera Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Giuseppe Verdi: pocket GIANTS Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnsung Voices: Opera and Musical Narrative in the Nineteenth Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Second Book of Operas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwelve Good Musicians: From John Bull to Henry Purcell Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond the Doorway: The Operas of Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas, and Maurice Ravel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVerdi: Man and Musician: His Biography with Especial Reference to His English Experiences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElgar: Variations and Enigmas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe World Of Opera: Mozart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Book of Operas: Their Histories, Their Plots, and Their Music Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGiuseppe Verdi His Life and Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMore Great Operas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Opera: <I>The Rake's Progress</I> in the Life of Stravinsky and Sung Drama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMourning de Pachmann: The Quest for the Spirit of Chopin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Siren Songs: Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Opera Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Franz Schubert and His World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waiting for Verdi: Opera and Political Opinion in Nineteenth-Century Italy, 1815-1848 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAspects of Schoenberg & Berg in Wozzeck Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLetters of Felix Mendelssohn to Ignaz and Charlotte Moscheles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPuccini: A Listener's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPuccini's Turandot: The End of the Great Tradition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Plot Summary of Mozart's Opera Don Giovanni Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Retracing a Winter's Journey: Franz Schubert's "Winterreise" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feuer Und Eis: A Study of Duality in the Life and Lieder of Franz Schubert Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRigoletto: Critical Edition Study Score Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeethoven's Letters 1790-1826, Volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Russian Opera Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaking New Music in Cold War Poland: The Warsaw Autumn Festival, 1956-1968 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSiegfried-Idyll: WWV 103 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Music For You
Me: Elton John Official Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure: Tools and Techniques for Writing Better Lyrics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Circle of Fifths: Visual Tools for Musicians, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Weird Scenes Inside The Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops & The Dark Heart Of The Hippie Dream Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Music Theory For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming a Great Sight-Reader–or Not! Learn From My Quest for Piano Sight-Reading Nirvana Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Open Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Easyway to Play Piano: A Beginner's Best Piano Primer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bowie: An Illustrated Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hal Leonard Pocket Music Theory (Music Instruction): A Comprehensive and Convenient Source for All Musicians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn Jazz Piano: book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Music Theory For Beginners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learn Guitar A Beginner's Course Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guitar Theory For Dummies: Book + Online Video & Audio Instruction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Songwriting Book: All You Need to Create and Market Hit Songs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Step By Step Mixing: How to Create Great Mixes Using Only 5 Plug-ins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Strange Loop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5More Myself: A Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Meaning of Mariah Carey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/588 Piano Classics for Beginners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practicing with Purpose: An Indispensable Resource to Increase Musical Proficiency Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Guitar For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Leonora's Last Act
1 rating0 reviews