Overview

Opera is traditionally regarded as an elitist art form far removed from reality by its fantastical plots 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 (Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, 1934)

Full Product Details

Author:   Kate Bailey
Publisher:   V & A Publishing
Imprint:   V & A Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 24.00cm , Height: 2.90cm , Length: 31.00cm
Weight:   1.970kg
ISBN:  

9781851779284

ISBN 10:   1851779280
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   02 October 2017
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Introduction, Kasper Holton; 1. Venice - introduced by Danielle de Niese, The Triumph of Poppea; Virtue, Vice, and Song in the Venetian Republic, Wendy Heller; 2. London - introduced by Robert Carsen, London: World City - Handel and Rinaldo, Daniel Snowman; 3. Vienna - introduced by Sir Antonio Pappano, Vienna and the Enlightenment, Nicholas Till; 4. Milan - introduced by Placido Domingo, Verdi and Milan: From Nabucco to Nabucco, Roger Parker; 5. Paris - introduced by Michael Levine, Wagner among the boulevards, Tannhauser in Paris, Flora Wilson; 6. Dresden, introduced by Simone Young, Visions of Women, Kate Bailey; 7. Leningrad - introduced by Graham Vick, Heroine, Victim or Criminal? Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Elizabeth Wilson

Reviews

'...a gem. Not only does it have essays by performers - e.g. Danielle De Niese on singing Poppea; Antonio Pappano on conducting Mozart's Figaro; and Placido Domingo on becoming a baritone Nabucco; but also the subject essays are written by genuine experts, e.g., Shostakovich is by Elizabeth Wilson.' Paul Levy, Arts Journal Blog, 21st October 2017

Author Information

Kate Bailey is Senior Curator of Design and Scenography in the Theatre and Performance department at the V&A.

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