Overview

Dreaming with Open Eyes examines visual symbolism in late seventeenth-century Italian opera, contextualizing the genre amid the broad ocularcentric debates emerging at the crossroads of the early modern period and the Enlightenment. Ayana O. Smith reevaluates significant aspects of the Arcadian reform aesthetic and establishes a historically informed method of opera criticism for modern scholars and interpreters. Unfolding in a narrative fashion, the text explores facets of the philosophical and literary background and concludes with close readings of text and music, using visual symbolism to create readings of gender and character in two operas: Alessandro Scarlatti's La Statira (Rome, 1690), and Carlo Francesco Pollarolo's La forza della virtù (Venice, 1693). Smith’s interdisciplinary approach enhances our modern perception of this rich and underexplored repertory, and will appeal to students and scholars not only of opera, but also of literature, philosophy, and visual and intellectual cultures.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ayana O. Smith
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.590kg
ISBN:  

9780520298156

ISBN 10:   0520298152
Pages:   328
Publication Date:   05 March 2019
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

List of Figures List of Musical Examples Acknowledgments Introduction part one. the image of truth 1. Founding Arcadia: The Aesthetics of Verisimilitude and Buon Gusto 2. Performing L'Endimione: A History and Reappraisal of Guidi's Favola pastorale 3. Reading the Classics: Intellectual and Cultural Resonances in Gravina's Discorso sopra l'Endimione part two. the truth of representation 4. Reconciling Icon, Mythos, and Tupos: The Role of Images in L'Endimione 5. Believing in Opera: Visual Modes in Alessandro Scarlatti's La Statira 6. Deceiving the Eye: Mirror, Statue, and Stone in Carlo Francesco Pollarolo's La forza della virtu Epilogue: Constructing Gender and Politics; Queen Christina's Image Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

Author Information

Ayana O. Smith is Associate Professor of Musicology at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Her research focuses on interdisciplinary critical approaches to music and text in seventeenth-century Italian opera.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions