Synopses & Reviews
This collection of essays, presented by an internationally known team of scholars, explores the world of Vienna and the development of opera buffa in the second half of the eighteenth century. Among the topics explored are the relationship of Viennese opera buffa to French theater; Mozart and eighteenth century comedy; gender, nature and bourgeois society on Mozart's buffa stage; as well as close examinations of key works such as Don Giovanni and Figaro.
Synopsis
Explores the world of Vienna and the development of opera buffa (a form of comic opera) in the second half of the eighteenth century. Among the topics examined are Mozart and eighteenth-century comedy; gender, nature and bourgeois society on Mozartâs buffa stage; as well as close analyses of key works such as Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 426-442) and index.
Table of Contents
Notes on contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction Mary Hunter and James Webster; Part I. Historical and Literary Contexts: 1. Goldoni, opera buffa, and Mozartâs advent in Vienna Daniel Heartz; 2. Lo specchio francese: Viennese opera buffa and the legacy of French theatre Bruce Alan Brown; 3. Il re alla caccia and Le roi et le fermier: Italian and French treatments of class and gender Marvin Carlson; 4. Mozart and eighteenth-century comedy Paolo Gallarati; Part II. Social and Generic Meanings: 5. The sentimental muse of opera buffa Edmund J. Goehring; 6. The biology lessons of opera buffa: gender, nature, and Bourgeois society on Mozartâs buffa stage Tia Denora; 7. Bourgeois values and Opera Buffa in 1780âs Vienna Mary Hunter; 8. Opera seria? Opera buffa? Genre and style as sign Marita P. McLymonds; 9. Figaro as misogynist: on aria types and aria rhetoric Ronald J. Rabin; 10. The alternative endings of Mozartâs Don Giovanni Michael F. Robinson; 11. Don Giovanni: recognition denied Jessica Waldoff; Part III. Analytical and Methodological Issues: 12. Analysis and dramaturgy: reflections towards a theory of Opera Sergio Durante; 13. Understanding opera buffa: analysis = interpretation James Webster; 14. Operatic ensembles and the problem of the Don Giovanni sextet John Platoff; 15. Buffo roles in Mozartâs Vienna: tessitura and tonality as signs of characterization Julian Rushton; List of works cited; Index.