Performing Arts : Opera

Drawing on hundreds of operas, singspiels, ballets, and plays with supernatural themes, Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests argues that the tension between fantasy and Enlightenment-era rationality shaped some of the most important works of eighteenth-century musical theater and profoundly influenced how audiences and critics responded to them. David J. Buch reveals that despite—and perhaps even because of—their fundamental irrationality, fantastic and exotic themes acquired extraordinary force and popularity during the period, pervading theatrical works with music in the French, German, and Italian mainstream. Considering prominent compositions by Gluck, Rameau, and Haydn, as well as many seminal contributions by lesser-known artists, Buch locates the origins of these magical elements in such historical sources as ancient mythology, European fairy tales, the Arabian Nights, and the occult. He concludes with a brilliant excavation of the supernatural roots of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, building a new foundation for our understanding of the magical themes that proliferated in Mozart’s wake. more...

Price: $50.00

A comprehensive guide to CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA and I PAGLIACCI, featuring insightful and in depth Commentary and Analysis, a complete, newly translated Libretto of each opera with Italian/English side-by side, and over 60 music highlight examples. more...

Price: $19.95

When Nietzsche dubbed Richard Wagner "the most enthusiastic mimomaniac" ever to exist, he was objecting to a hollowness he felt in the music, a crowding out of any true dramatic impulse by extravagant poses and constant nervous movements. Mary Ann Smart suspects that Nietzsche may have seen and heard more than he realized. more...

Price: $15.95

A newly translated LIBRETTO of Mozart's COSÌ FAN TUTTE with many music examples. more...

Price: $9.00

A newly translated LIBRETTO of Mozart's DON GIOVANNI with many music examples. more...

Price: $9.00