Opera: passion, power and politics

Abstract

"Opera is traditionally regarded as an elitist art form far removed from reality by its fantastical pots and melodramatic divas. This book shows that beneath the opulent sets and sumptuous costumes, opera is very much a product of its time. Like all the great narrative arts, it draws on essential human experiences to create a form that can be endlessly reinvented to reflect a changing society.Focusing on seven opera premieres in seven distinct cultural landscapes, with additional essays by contemporary practitioners including Placido Domingo, Antonio Pappano and Simone Young, the book culminates in the international explosion of opera in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The seven operas and premieres are: Venice (Monteverdi's L'Incoranazione di Poppea, 1642); London (Handel's Rinaldo, 1711); Vienna (Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, 1786); Milan (Verdi's Nabucco, 1842); Paris (Wagner's Tannhauser, 1861); Dresden (Strauss' Salome, 1905) and St Petersburg 0(Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, 1934)" -- publisher's description.

Contents

1.Venice Claudio Monteverdi L'incoronazione di Poppea -- 2.London George Frideric Handel Rinaldo -- 3.Vienna Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Le nozze di Figaro -- 4.Milan Giuseppe Verdi Nabucco -- 5.Paris Richard Wagner Tannhauser -- 6.Dresden Richard Strauss Salome -- 7.Leningrad Dmitri Shostakovich Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District -- 8.Afterword Opera: Today and Tomorrow.