Early Opera Research Articles

Ancient Rome in Early Opera (review)

Reviewed by: Ancient Rome in Early Opera Peter G. McC. Brown Robert C. Ketterer. Ancient Rome in Early Opera. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009. Pp. xi, 253. $40.00. ISBN 978-0-252-03378-0. This is an exceptionally intelligent and well-informed book on a topic of some importance for the reception of classical antiquity in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a period rich in operas based on Roman history. In an introductory chapter, Ketterer traces with admirable lucidity not only the main outlines of ancient history from Alexander to Hadrian but also the intellectual, social, and political movements that both led to the establishment of opera as a genre and influenced the first two centuries of its development; he ends this chapter with some basic facts about the circulation of librettos and the evolution of performance practices in the period studied. In the following eight chapters he discusses a representative sample of operas from 1643 to 1797, mainly to do with Scipio Africanus the Elder, Julius Caesar, Cato the Younger, Nero, and Titus, elucidating above all the development and interconnectedness of two themes, "the myth of the clement prince" and "the myth of liberty." All these works used Italian librettos, and Ketterer's approach is "essentially literary" (20), a study above all of the libretto texts, though he has pertinent things to say about their musical settings at many points. He provides translations, generally his own, of the passages discussed, quoting the original text in his endnotes or in the appendix of "Passages from unpublished Italian sources." The works discussed are The Coronation of Poppaea (Busenello and Monteverdi, 1643); Scipio Africanus (Minato and Cavalli, 1665); Agrippina (Grimani and Handel, 1709–1710) and Otto in his Villa (Lalli and Vivaldi, 1713); Zeno's libretto for Scipio in Spain (1710); Julius Caesar in Egypt (Haym and Handel, 1724) and Cato in Utica (Metastasio and Vivaldi, 1737); Corradi's libretto for Germanicus on the Rhine (1676), the anonymous libretto written for Arminius in London in 1714, and the Arminius of Salvi and Handel (1737); Metastasio's libretto for The Clemency of Titus (1734) and the Julius Sabinus of Giovannini and Sarti (1783); and finally (under the title "The Revolution and the End of a Myth") Mazzolà and Mozart's version of The Clemency of Titus (1791), Salfi's libretto for The Pisonian Conspiracy (1797), and The Horatii and the Curiatii (Sografi and Cimarosa, 1797). The arrangement is largely diachronic, but works have been grouped together so as to bring out thematic points in the development of the genre. In each chapter we are given a summary of the historical (or quasi-historical) events underlying the drama and of the historical context within which the librettos were written. Nor is the literary context neglected: Addison's Cato is given due prominence in the chapter on Julius Caesar and Cato, for example. Themes of republicanism and resistance to tyranny are shown to have different resonances in different contexts, and the myth of the clement prince (an almost inevitable ingredient of works written for royal courts) is seen gradually to give way to the myth of liberty. But the example of Nero in particular had shown from the start that princes were not always clement, and some "happy endings" had rung quite hollow long before they ceased to be required by convention. Ketterer's rich analyses enable us to follow [End Page 120] the fortunes of these themes and to tease out the often subtle relationships between the events on stage and in life at the ruling courts of the day. He also analyzes, for instance, Platonic, Ovidian, and Stoic elements in The Coronation of Poppaea; and Ovidian and Stoic elements in Scipio Africanus. There are many comic elements to examine, too, particularly in the earlier operas discussed, though Ketterer's final remark, that "Plautus and Terence, not Sophocles and Aristotle, were the real fathers of dramma per musica" comes as a bit of a surprise as the conclusion to this book: if it is a trailer for his next, I look forward eagerly to that. Peter G. McC. Brown Trinity College, University of Oxford Classical World 104.1 (2010) Copyright...

Usmiljenje in njegove transformacije

Daleč od tega, da bi izžarevala dostojanstvo strogih, a usmiljenih vladarjev v zgodnjih Mozartovih operah, Titova dejanja kažejo poteze histeričnega samoinsceniranja. Lažnivost njegovega položaja odseva v sami glasbi, ki – kot vrhunski vzorec mozartovske ironije – spodkopava eksplicitno ideološki projekt opere.

Sideways looks at Mozart's operas

‘Composers on the stage’ is a new series from Cambridge University Press intended to ‘introduce readers to the operatic works of major composers … and investigate the worlds in which the operas were created and received’. John A. Rice begins with the customary apology for yet another book on Mozart operas, but the apology is superfluous, for no predecessor is structured like this. Responding to his publisher's statement of intent, Rice jettisons the usual chronological approach, with plot summaries and a smattering of music analysis. This does not mean that plots, music and historical elements are lacking; far from it. But they are rearranged in a way that is novel and refreshing. The book is divided into topics such as the genres of Mozart's day; financing and commissioning operas; Mozart and librettists; Mozart and singers; and a thorough look at the theatres where his operas were mounted. Thus the operas are viewed from a series of different angles within the society and operatic culture of his day. Rice carefully explains his approach in the Preface, marking politely but firmly certain points of difference between his and earlier approaches: for instance, the early operas and their context, so often perfunctorily treated, are no less ‘interesting and revealing’ than works of Mozart's maturity (p.xii); and that we should not exaggerate the division between serious and comic operas in Mozart's time (p.xiii). This last point is supported by a sarcastic demolition of Metastasio's Semiramide libretto, ingeniously compared to La finta giardiniera; it is not clear, however, that the admittedly outré plot of Semiramide was considered funny in the 18th century, or that settings of it would have been attended to in such a way as to relish its absurdities.

Ancient Rome in Early Opera (review)

Reviewed by: Ancient Rome in Early Opera Michael Ewans Robert C. Ketterer . Ancient Rome in Early Opera. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2009. Pp. xi + 253. $40.00. This book discusses operas based on themes drawn from Roman history over the period from Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea (1643) to c.1800, after which operatic taste moved away from this subject matter. Ketterer demonstrates that "Rome provided early modern Europe with impressive visual and aural presentations of two important myths, which I call the myth of the clement prince and the myth of liberty" (2), because these myths reflected central preoccupations of educated, operagoing audiences during the period before and up to shortly after the French Revolution. The book traces the development of ideas, and therefore of the preoccupations of opera librettists and composers, throughout this period, after which there are virtually no more Roman operas (though Berlioz's midnineteenth century masterpiece Les Troyens should have received at least an honorable mention, even if it is based on epic rather than history). Ketterer's book is primarily a study in what some scholars refer to as "librettology." He rightly observes that libretti were in this period important in their own right, and the most popular ones were set many times by different composers. As a result, the average contemporary operagoer is likely to have actually seen only three of the many operas discussed here: L'incoronazione di Poppea, Handel's Giulio Cesare, and Mozart's setting of an adapted version of Metastasio's highly popular La clemenza di Tito, as the opera seria to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II as king of Bohemia in 1791. And, as a further result, consideration of the music of opera is comparatively rare in this book, and considerably circumscribed; almost the only aspect of Monteverdi's great opera to be discussed is the use of the stile concertato, and elsewhere, comment on musical settings is largely confined to value judgments on the quality of the settings of particular passages of the text. However, this limitation is more than adequately compensated for by the quality of Ketterer's consideration of texts. In each case, a concise exposition of the Roman source material and the essence of the original story precedes the discussion of the uses for which operatic librettists employed it to reflect the concerns of their contemporaries. Ketterer deftly separates various aspects of classical thought and the extent to which they influenced the content of opera texts—in particular Neoplatonism, from which the Renaissance gained a sense of yearning to return to "the upper spheres of fire and light" (24), and Stoicism, which influenced the portrayal of Seneca in L'incoronazione di Poppea. (Nonetheless, Ketterer rightly argues that the triumph of Amor in the union of Nerone and Poppea is gloriously celebrated, and is therefore central to the opera.) Stoicism then became a principal theme in operas based on the stories of Scipio Africanus and Cato. An extended and excellent analysis of Minato's text for Scipione [End Page 282] affricano (chapter 3) foregrounds the continence of Scipione, and his struggles against his erotic feelings and the temptation to abuse his power. I am not at all sure about the discussion of the closing scenes of Handel's Agrippina. Ketterer has to juggle complex factors, including the wealth of associations surrounding the character of Ottone, the possibility that Handel's music undermines the final reconciliation of Ottone and Poppea, and the heavy shadow of actual subsequent Roman history, which hangs over the happy ending for the couple; as the author notes, "Agrippina was supposed to have poisoned Claudius, Nero pursued Poppea, exiled Ottone, and killed both Agrippina and Poppea herself " (75). Scipio returns as the leading character in Zeno's libretto for Scipio nelle Spagne (1710), in which the clement prince myth is first seen fully developed. Ketterer argues that in this libretto (as in Poppea) there is a Stoic character—Luceio as a surrogate Cato, conquering his own desires and able to renounce his passion for Sophonisba, and accept his own death, so his sworn friend Scipione may take her as his wife. Apart from Luceio, this libretto also contains the...

“What Do We Mean by Opera, Anyway?”: Lloyd Webber'sPhantom of the Operaand “High-Pop” Theatre

“What Do We Mean by Opera, Anyway?”: Lloyd Webber's<i>Phantom of the Opera</i>and “High-Pop” Theatre

Ancient Rome in early opera

The major historians of ancient Rome wrote their works in the firm belief that the exalted history of the Roman Empire provided plentiful lessons about individual behavior, inspiration for great souls, and warnings against evil ambitions, not to mention opportunities for rich comedy. The examples of Rome have often been resurrected for the opera stage to display the exceptional grandeur, glory, and tragedy of Roman figures.In this volume, Robert C. Ketterer tracks the changes as operas’ Roman subjects crossed generations and national boundaries. Following opera from its origins in seventeenth-century Venice to Napoleon’s invasion of Italy, Ketterer shows how Roman history provided composers with all the necessary courage and intrigue, love and honor, and triumph and defeat so vital for the stirring music that makes great opera.

Can Stage Directors Make Opera and Popular Culture ‘Equal’?

Can Stage Directors Make Opera and Popular Culture ‘Equal’?

To repeat (or not to repeat)? Dance cues in Restoration English opera

The article examines a simple possibility pertaining to the performance of theatrical dance in opera in the Restoration English theatre, namely that the existence of many of the dances and their accompanying music in 17th- and early 18th-century English operas is hidden in the context and score of the just-performed vocal numbers. The possibility that this could be the case in one or two specific instances has been raised elsewhere, but this article considers the evidence for the expansion of these cases into a more general convention. There can be no dispute that the role of dance in dramatick opera is a significant one. In the 11 or so works in the genre written and performed in London between 1690 and 1706, there are some 71 dances indicated in the surviving play-texts; as the period progresses, hardly an act passes by the audience without one. They became one of opera ' s drawcards and range widely in type and style. The article proposes that there was more dancing than even the already copious amounts indicated in the printed sources; the repeats proposed—particularly the final ones in musical sequences—could hold the solution to the problem of some of the apparently ' missing ' dances and resolve issues raised by attempts to co-ordinate musical and spoken sources.

Ladies and Courtesans in Late Sixteenth-Century Commedia Grave: Vernacular Antecedents of Early Opera's Prime Donne

The article brings to light Sforza Oddi's little-known commedie gravi or 'serious' comedies which, I suggest, are representative of the dramatic innovations that took place in Italy during the second half of the Cinquecento and prior to the 'birth' of opera in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Drawing on similarities of style, form, content, and gender-related issues, I argue here that a number of theatrical devices already present in scripted comedy such as the soliloquy and lament forms, together with rather pronounced melodramatic patterns of speech, served to pave the way for sung drama, specifically, through their use by the prime donne of early opera.

Wagner and Wagnerism in Nineteenth-Century Sweden, Finland, and the Baltic Provinces: Reception, Enthusiasm, Cult (review)

Wagner and Wagnerism in Nineteenth-Century Sweden, Finland, and Baltic Provinces: Reception, Enthusiasm, Cult. By Hannu Salmi. (Eastman Studies in Music.) Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2006. [x, 310 p. ISBN 1-58046-207-3. $65.] Maps, illustrations. Hannu Salmi's work on Wagnerism in Baltic region documents phenomenon with extraordinary detail. This book not only enlarges understanding of Wagnerism in general in nineteenth century, it also supplements music histories of Baltic countries with wealth of information and copiously detailed references. The text is delightfully illustrated with historical postcards, drawn primarily from author's own collection. Salmi claims that Wagner's relationship to Baltic Europe was not limited to his years as conductor in Konigsberg and Riga at start of his career. Neither were these places insignificant in larger Wagner phenomenon that engulfed Europe in later nineteenth century, with Riga perpetually emerging as leading center of interest in Wagner. In his Prelude, Salmi notes potential problems in researching Wagner reception in this region. Countries on Baltic coastline differ culturally, linguistically, and aesthetically, making this book collection of several reception histories rather than single, monolithic documentary. The choice of countries may seem somewhat arbitrary at first. Including Sweden but omitting Norway and Denmark, for example, focuses on Baltic coast region as geo-cultural unit at expense of real discussion of pan-Scandinavian Wagnerism. Why focus on Baltic coast countries, then? In first of eight chapters, Salmi maintains that musical links between coastal towns of Baltic Sea remained close up until middle of nineteenth century (p. 13), and that emergence of Wagnerism as phenomenon coincided almost exactly with critical shift in cultural relationships between these countries, facilitated by telegraph, steamboat, and railway. When Wagner was in Konigsberg and Riga, he was already becoming aware of local folk culture, but even more importantly was recognizing the dramatic possibility of myth (p. 18). Salmi argues, with considerable evidence to back him up, that Wagner's Baltic years should not be considered as a kind of prehistory (p. 30) to Paris and Dresden Wagner. Many of features of Wagner's later music have their roots in these early experiences. The second chapter discusses commoditization and distribution of Wagner's music in region, through publication of scores, arrangements, and extracts from operas. These low-brow arrangements introduced Baltic audiences to Wagner's music before they heard any of his operas performed, with Tannhauser becoming particular favorite through excerpts. The next chapter opens with an account of Riga's centrality in Baltic Wagnerism. It was, for example, first city after Dresden to stage performance (in 1843) of Der fliegende Hollander. Salmi claims (p. 60) that tremendous success of this opera in Riga may even have convinced Wagner to follow more Germanic style of Dutchman rather than French style of his earlier opera, Rienzi. A summary of Wagner's 1863 tour to Russia is not really part of this story, but is smuggled in as separate chapter under author's claim that this tour influenced Wagner reception in neighboring Finland. He also examines in some detail rumor (now almost certainly debunked) that Wagner visited famous Imatra rapids in Finland during his Russian tour. Wagnerism in Sweden followed very different path than in other Baltic countries. In chapter 5, Salmi tracks Sweden's relatively unenthusiastic response to Wagner, which he notes was partly due to Rienzi (rather than one of later operas) being first Wagner opera performed in Sweden. Influential Swedish critics like Wilhelm Bauck were also repeatedly critical of Wagner's work. …

The Birth of Opera and the New Science

Since its birth in 1600 opera has been interpreted as an attempt to revive Greek tragedies in its marvelous music. Its provocative presentation of action and narration entirely in music has been seen as a manifestation of the enchanted universe of sixteenth-century hermeticism. Viewed as a final homage to the magical incantations of the premodern era, late Renaissance operas have been interpreted as the culmination rather than the dissolution of Renaissance culture. This paper proposes that the relationship between the natural and the supernatural in early opera represents a rational mediation between the real and the unreal rather than an enchanted bond between these realms. The paper situates the birth of opera in the context of the epistemological shift of the new science and suggests that opera played a key role in the transition from the old to the modern notions of meaning and truth.

Opera and comedy: Jacopo Melani, Il potesta di Colognole, ed. James Leve, Yale University Collegium Musicum, Second Series, xiv (Middleton WI: A-R Editions, 2005), $152

From its beginnings opera has always been a mixed genre. Elements of tragedy, comedy and the pastoral exist in varying proportions in any sample of early opera. But theorists (including a sizeable contingent of librettists) seem to have emphasized the tragic side of the genre, stating, for instance, that the comic was indecorous and thus unfit for the general public. By the 1640s the idea of opera as a mixed genre finally seems to have gained general acceptance, coinciding perhaps with the establishment of the term dramma per musica. As a result of this and the development of a full set of operatic conventions, questions of genre were less frequently discussed. It is all the more surprising that in Florence, a place where the audience would perhaps contain a higher proportion of nobility than in Venice, a tradition of strictly comic opera was established during the following decade. The opera that founded this tradition is Il potestà di Colognole (1657), libretto by Giovanni Andrea Moniglia and music by Jacopo Melani. James Leve, editor of the publication reviewed here, notes that no other 17th-century opera tradition can claim to be as close to the classical definitions of comedy as the Florentine one. The librettist, Moniglia, took his inspiration from the Roman comedies of Terence, as well as from the 16th-century Italian tradition of comic theatre. However, it is hard to see how Il potestà di Colognole is significantly different from the usual dramma per musica of the time.

SONGS TO SHAPE A GERMAN NATION: HILLER’S COMIC OPERAS AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE

In this article I assert that our modern understanding of the singspiel as a genre has been shaped not by eighteenth-century principles but rather by nineteenth-century notions of ‘romantic’ German opera. In contrast to a later through-composed ideal, Johann Adam Hiller’s comic operas, often viewed as the prototype of the German comic genre, were designed precisely in order that the songs might easily be detached from the spoken dialogue, disseminated outside of the public opera house and sung by audiences in various other contexts. The express purpose of these songs, as articulated by librettist Christian Felix Weisse, was to promote communal singing in social circles across Germany. The genre was thus designed for circulation within what Habermas describes as the public sphere: a conceptual space between the State and the private home in which texts, ideas and musical works were circulated and debated.Composed in what was called the German Volkston (in the manner of the Volk), Hiller’s melodies are recorded as being sung and played throughout the streets and parks of major German cities and became so popular that they became known as folksongs. This idea of the Volk as a collective entity and of the Volkston, however, was rooted in a deeper sense of the public as nation. Inspired by Le devin du village and J. J. Rousseau’s writings on politics, language and the fine arts, Weisse and Hiller’s operas employ the pastoral mode, in which idealized peasants sing in the manner of a folksong. The idyllic simplicity of these early German-language comic operas appealed to a diversified German audience by affirming their roots, the public use of their language and their morally upright character as a nation. Thus comic opera as a genre was circulated within the public sphere with the intention of transcending the boundaries of social class to unite the German nation in song.

Sarka

Enthusiasts for Janáček’s operas will welcome this edition, expertly edited by Jiří Zahrádka, a young Czech scholar who lives and works in the composer’s beloved Brno. This early opera was badly in need of a new edition, given both the resurgence of interest in the composer’s operas in recent years and the previous lack of scholarly and editorial interest in the composer’s pre-Jenůfa works. In the light of Janáček research it seems likely that the composer was drawn to this subject because of its musico-dramatic possibilities, its nationalist subtext, and its fascinating female characters. Šárka is the Amazonian maiden who, according to a fourteenth-century source, allows herself to be tied to a tree to entice Ctirad, a brave warrior who is her opponent. After he frees her, she offers him and his men intoxicating drinks and asks him to blow her hunting horn. He obliges and unwittingly alerts the hidden warrior maidens, who rush out and slaughter the men and take Ctirad captive. Once he is transported to their fortress Devin, the defeated Ctirad is taken to the river Vltava and broken on the wheel. When Přemysl, the king, learns of the women’s activities, his armies storm Devin, kill the maidens, and burn the fortress to the ground. Various sources detail Šárka’s end; in one version she is buried alive, in another she wills herself to turn to stone, and in Julius Zeyer’s libretto—the basis for Janáček’s setting—heartbroken and defeated, she stabs herself to death.

Louise and Sidney Homer: a 21st century dual‐career couple, circa 1911

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the lives of early twentieth century opera star Louise Homer and her composer husband Sidney, and their attempts to manage two successful careers and a family of six children. Almost 100 years ago, the Homers – a rare example of a two‐career family – employed several adaptive strategies that academic researchers later suggested for twenty‐first century dual‐career couples.Design/methodology/approachConsidering the work‐family literature, two modern models of managing and coping with the stresses of dual careers were examined and the Homer family were then considered to determine whether they employed similar strategies. Letters were used from the Homers and their children, other original documents and secondary research in investigating the couple's efforts to handle the challenges of dual‐careers when the concept of a woman pursuing a profession outside the home was a novelty.FindingsSeveral adaptive strategies recently “discovered” to be used by upper‐income dual‐career couples with children seem just as applicable to 1911 when the Homers' fifth child was born. The findings underscore the idea that challenges perceived as unusual and unique to one generation have been dealt with successfully by past generations.Originality/valueThe paper provides an historical perspective on newly suggested strategies for dual‐career couples in the work‐family literature. Such strategies have been used for at least a century even though the dual‐career concept only became prominent in the last four decades. This paper is one of a few that examines dual‐career couples in an historical context, and indicates how the past can inform those who face contemporary workplace phenomena.

THE LIFE AND WORLD OF A SINGER: FINDING MY WAY

The subject of my research is the performing practice of so-called early music, particularly the vocal music of the Italian Early Baroque era (ca. 1600-1630). The central figure in my study is Claudio Monteverdi and I am focusing my attention on the recitatives in his early operas, especially in Orfeo (1607). Or, should I say, these were the subject, focus, and central figure of my research but they have been at least temporarily replaced by a more fundamental issue. Studying the performing practice of Italian Early Baroque vocal music1 made me realize how little has been revealed by research of the facts of performing practice and how much more I know from my own experience as a singer and as a teacher.

Henze’s early one-act operas

HENZE Ein Landarzt; Das Ende einer Welt.

Why Venice? Venetian Society and the Success of Early Opera

Why did opera first succeed as a public art form in Venice between 1637 and 1650 when all the elements of the new form were fully evident? The answer is to be found in the conjunction between Venetian carnival festivity and the intellectual politics of Venetian republicanism during the two generations after the lifting of the papal interdict against Venice in 1607. During this extraordinary period of relatively free speech, which was unmatched elsewhere at the time, Venice was the one place in Italy open to criticisms of Counter Reformation papal politics. Libertine and skeptical thought flourished in the Venetian academies, the members of which wrote the librettos and financed the theaters for many of the early Venetian operas.

The doleful airs of Euripides: The origins of opera and the spirit of tragedy reconsidered

Scholarly consensus denies a real connection between ancient tragedy and early opera because music historians have measured early operas against an idealised conception of Attic tragedy. However, the pioneers of opera were seeking to revive a Euripidean style of musical tragedy as it was performed in the ‘decadent’ theatres of the Hellenistic era. Euripides's tragedies established conventional relationships between musical expression and the representation of the passions. Baroque opera is seen as a strongly complex reading of a set of Euripidean tragedies that enjoyed favour in the Hellenistic era but fell from critical grace in the nineteenth century. These plays hold the key to opera's tragic pretensions; the esteem they long enjoyed should prompt us to reconsider the spirit of tragedy and the nature of catharsis.

Completing the picture: the importance of reconstructing early opera

The article discusses the scenic reconstruction of late 17th-century English opera, and shows that the lack of attention paid to the non-musical aspects of the original performances can often result in serious misunderstandings of the relationship between the various components. The authors have reconstructed the stage of Dorset Garden theatre, where all the Purcell operas except Dido and Aeneas were first performed, including the scenery, the costumes and the movements, using materials from many disciplines including architecture, design, art, theatre, music and general history, biography, literature, and also common sense. Their example is the Act 5 masque in Purcell's The Fairy Queen (1692), adapted by an unknown librettist from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They show that, far from being a generic song-and-dance scene unrelated to the plot, as is often stated by both theatre and music historians, this masque is a highly specific tribute to William and Mary on the occasion of their 15th wedding anniversary, and was performed a few months before the public celebrations of that event. The numerous illustrations are mainly taken from contemporary paintings and books many of which were owned by the manager of Dorset Garden, the actor Thomas Betterton, who was responsible for putting on the operas and wrote the libretto for at least one of them. The article is also accompanied by a 10-minute animation of the scene, see www.em.oupjournals.org.