Synopses & Reviews
Italy was the birthplace of opera. In this authoritative and accessible account of Italian opera, David Kimbell introduces those who, over three hundred years, created not only a national tradition but the central tradition from which others have drawn their inspiration. He traces the history of Italian opera from its origins in the humanism of the Renaissance to Puccini in the early twentieth century, drawing attention not only to musical issues but also to the social, literary, and philosophical ideas that have shaped modern Italian civilization.
Review
"...Kimbell excels at shedding a sympathetic light on the repertory, especially in its earlier, less familiar stages, by examining works through the aesthetic viewpoint of each particular era." Notes"David Kimbell has wrestled his enormous topic coolly and efficiently to the mat and comes away with a fairly honorable victory." Opera News"David Kimbell's gift in keeping the thread of change in view while discussing the particular gift of composers Monteverdi, Cesti and Pergolesi, and the powerful influence of the poet Pietro Metastasio, enlivens the chapters on opera's early buoyancy. Also, Kimbell's essays on Cimarosa, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi give reasons for these composers' dominance." Daniel Webster, Philadelphia Inquirer
Synopsis
David Kimbell traces the history of Italian opera from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century.
Synopsis
Tracing the history of Italian opera from its origins in the humanism of the Renaissance to Puccini in the early twentieth century, this authoritative account draws attention to influential social, literary and philosophical ideas as well as musical issues.
Table of Contents
'List of illustrations; Preface; A note on Italian prosody; Map; Introduction: the Italianness of Italian opera; Part I. The Origins of Opera: 1. The Renaissance intermedi; 2. The elements of early opera; 3. The beginnings of opera; 4. Monteverdi\'s Orfeo; Part II. The Venetian Hegemony: 5. Opera in seventeenth-century Rome; 6. Opera comes to Venice; 7. The nature of Venetian opera; 8. The development of the musical language; 9. Cesti\'s L\'Orontea; Part III. Opera Seria: 10. The dramma per musica; 11. \'Perfection and public favour\'; 12. The performance of opera seria; 13. The collapse of the Metastasian ideal; 14. Opera seria in an age of ferment; 15. A half-century of L\'Olimpiade; Part IV. The Tragedy of Comedy: 16. The commedia dell\'arte; 17. Contrascene and intermezzi; 18. The flowering of comic opera in Naples and Venice; 19. Apogee and decline; 20. Il barbiere di Siviglia: Paisiello\'s and Rossini\'s settings; Part V. Romantic Opera: 21. Italian Romanticism; 22. Dramatic themes: the libretto; 23. The life of the theatre; 24. The musical language of Italian Romantic opera; 25. Rossini in Naples; 26. A franker Romanticism; 27. The young Verdi; 28. Bellini\'s Norma; Part VI. Cosmopolitanism and Decadence: 29. Italian grand opera; 30. Scapigliati and bohemians; 31. Verdi and Boito; 32. Verismo; Personalia; Notes; Bibliography; Index. \n
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