Opera: Passion, Power and Politics

(Hardback)

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Description

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)

Reviews

'lavish' Financial Times, Books of the Year 2017: Music; '...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; `a handsome, beautifully illustrated tome' **** BBC Music Magazine, 1st November 2017

Author Bio

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