Sing Sorrow: Classics, History, and Heroines in Opera

(Hardback)

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Examines the use of classical literature in opera and the political, cultural, and gender implications of such usage. Opera has often used classical literature as a means of expressing the most vital concerns of the period in which the operas were written. Sing Sorrow explores the classical roots of many noted operas, illustrating the ways in which the operas reflected the political concerns of their time through these ancient narratives. In particular, though female opera characters are often regarded as victims, they are actually quite heroic, frequently shaping their own destinies. Each chapter provides background and historical context, examines the relationship between the opera and the original work of literature, and suggests what the music contributes to the interpretation. Through the lens of the classics, Sing Sorrow approaches opera from a unique aesthetic and cultural standpoint, giving a new perspective to both opera and its literary and dramatic ancestors.

Reviews

"A work of insight and astonishing erudition, Marianne McDonald's Sing Sorrow: Classics, History and Heroines in Opera is an admirable study of many ways in which the ancient Greek heroines and their pathos have sung their way back into the modern musical imagination. A valuable book of informed literary and musical interpretation."-Edward W. Said, University Professor, Columbia University
"As a theatre professional and passionate operagoer, I found this the most engaging and informative book in the field of opera that I have ever read. Professor McDonald's meticulous scholarship and love for her subject informs every page. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough to anyone who, like myself, wants to know more about the remarkable second life of the great classics in this musical form."-Athol Fugard Playwright
"Dr. McDonald takes eight operas, spanning the whole period from the birth of the genre to the present day, and analyses them alongside the epic or tragic models from classical antiquity from which they derive their inspiration. Her book is infused with a deep love of music and of literature alike, and with the conviction that music, no less than language, can express the essence of the text. Dr. McDonald has attempted something new and bold, and has carried it off with panache."-James Diggle, Professor of Greek and Latin, Cambridge University
"Marianne McDonald moves so gracefully through her histories of opera, music and the drama that one sometimes forgets that one is being carried along on a steady current of formidable scholarship. It flows with such apparent effortlessness and zest that one can almost overlook how formidable that scholorship actually is. Learning so lightly worn is such a pleasure."-Alexander Cockburn syndicated columnist for the Nation Author ofThe Golden Age is in the US
"The book is outstanding for its wide, profound and passionate scholarship. Harmoniously combining theatrical insight with literary sensitivity, the author leads the reader deftly from Monteverdi to Berlioz and onwards to Theodorakis. Her social awareness enables her to place operatic performances in their political contexts-music for her, as for Plato, is political; and questions of imperialism, ethnicity, and feminism are candidly confronted. Her knowlegde of Greek myth and her-not unsympathetic-perceptions of Christian doctrine are deployed with critical skill in the heartfelt interpretation of human joy and pain. This is a work of originality, but also of magnanimity."-George L. Huxley Professor emeritus of Greek Queens University of Belfast Author of Greek Epic Poetry, et al
"This book is a revelation of the many and varied ways that European opera over the last three hundred years, from Monteverdi to Theodorakis has adapted Greek and Latin epic and tragedy for variety of purposes. It is an exemplary study in the forms of cultural transmission; in the changing versions of heroism; in the complex relations between words and music. Most of all it is a short story of the cultural legacy of the classics and their enduring power over the centuries, brilliantly told, richly illustrated and impressively documented."-Seamus Deane Author, Keough Professor of Irish Studies, University of Notre Dame
[A]n enthusiastic study.-The Classical Review
[T]he exploitation of classical history and literature by librettists and composers is a relatively neglected corner of the field of reception studies. Marianne McDonald's book, which comes with recomendations by eminent authorities including Bernard Knox, George Huxley, and James Diggle, is therefore particularly welcome.-Hermathena
It is easy to admire the breadth of schoalrship needed to create Sing Sorrow....McDonald has done and extraordinary service to scholars by providing them with the most complete list of operas based on classical subjects now available, grouping them by composer, and organizing these works according to the composer's date of birth. The resulting list alone would make Sing Sorrow worth having in a reference library, even if it were not for the book's other contributions. ...the sheer quality of the information it contains and the insight that McDonald often brings to her discussion make the book an important addition to libraries, academic collections, and resources for the professional historian of opera.-The Opera Quarterly
McDonald has done an extraordinary service to scholars by providing them with the most complete list of operas based on classical subjects now available, grouping them by composer, and organizing these works according to the composer's date of birth. The resulting list alone would make Sing Sorrow worth having in a reference library, even if it were not for the book's other contributions.-The Opera Quarterly
Sing Sorrow is one of those rare books that need to exist, and when you come across it you can't believe it took this long for someone to write it. It is hard-headed, bi-learned at very least, practical, useful, wide-ranging in scope and theme, monumental though compact, and by the time it reaches a revised, second edition will cross the bar from an excellent to a great work.-Arion
The book is likely to become a standard reference work for years to come.-The Opera Quarterly
The insight that McDonald often brings to her discussion make the book an important addition to libraries, academic collections, and resources for the professional historian of opera.-The Opera Quarterly
With Sing Sorrow, McDonald has not only written a major contribution to the study of music and literature and pioneered the particular study of opera and the classics, but--to switch metaphors just a bit--broken trail for others who would pioneer their own double studies, be they on the classics and Renaissance art, instrumental music, or (shudder!) George Lucas.-Arion
[A]n enthusiastic study.The Classical Review
"An enthusiastic study."-The Classical Review
"The exploitation of classical history and literature by librettists and composers is a relatively neglected corner of the field of reception studies. Marianne McDonald's book, which comes with recomendations by eminent authorities including Bernard Knox, George Huxley, and James Diggle, is therefore particularly welcome."-Hermathena
"[A]n enthusiastic study."-The Classical Review
"[T]he exploitation of classical history and literature by librettists and composers is a relatively neglected corner of the field of reception studies. Marianne McDonald's book, which comes with recomendations by eminent authorities including Bernard Knox, George Huxley, and James Diggle, is therefore particularly welcome."-Hermathena
"McDonald has done an extraordinary service to scholars by providing them with the most complete list of operas based on classical subjects now available, grouping them by composer, and organizing these works according to the composer's date of birth. The resulting list alone would make Sing Sorrow worth having in a reference library, even if it were not for the book's other contributions."-The Opera Quarterly
"Sing Sorrow is one of those rare books that need to exist, and when you come across it you can't believe it took this long for someone to write it. It is hard-headed, bi-learned at very least, practical, useful, wide-ranging in scope and theme, monumental though compact, and by the time it reaches a revised, second edition will cross the bar from an excellent to a great work."-Arion
"The book is likely to become a standard reference work for years to come."-The Opera Quarterly
"The insight that McDonald often brings to her discussion make the book an important addition to libraries, academic collections, and resources for the professional historian of opera."-The Opera Quarterly
"With Sing Sorrow, McDonald has not only written a major contribution to the study of music and literature and pioneered the particular study of opera and the classics, but--to switch metaphors just a bit--broken trail for others who would pioneer their own double studies, be they on the classics and Renaissance art, instrumental music, or (shudder!) George Lucas."-Arion
"It is easy to admire the breadth of schoalrship needed to create Sing Sorrow....McDonald has done and extraordinary service to scholars by providing them with the most complete list of operas based on classical subjects now available, grouping them by composer, and organizing these works according to the composer's date of birth. The resulting list alone would make Sing Sorrow worth having in a reference library, even if it were not for the book's other contributions. ...the sheer quality of the information it contains and the insight that McDonald often brings to her discussion make the book an important addition to libraries, academic collections, and resources for the professional historian of opera."-The Opera Quarterly

Author Bio

MARIANNE MCDONALD is Professor of Theatre and Classics at the University of California, San Diego, and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. She was a Fulbright professor in 1999 and in addition to her post at UCSD, is adjunct professor at Trinity College Dublin and a fellow at the National University of Ireland. With over 140 publications. She is the author of Terms for Happiness in Euripides, Euripides in Cinema, Ancient Sun/Modern Light, and Star Myths.