Aesthetics of Opera in the Ancien Régime, 1647-1785

by Downing A. Thomas

Overview

This is the first study to recognize the wider picture of opera within early-modern French culture. Downing Thomas considers the place of music within a cultural environment—the employment of music by Louis XIV as a symbol of absolutism; the use of music as a statement against the monarchy; and the long-term development of opera as a reflection of humanism. Thomas examines key works by Lully, Rameau, and Charpentier, among others, and extends his reach from the late seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521100977
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/05/2009
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Opera
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	420
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Downing A. Thomas is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of French and Italian at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Music and the Origins of Language: Theories from the French Enlightenment (Cambridge University Press, 1995), and co-editor of Empire and Occupation in France and the Francophone Worlds, a special issue of Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature (1999). He has also published numerous articles.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. French Opera in the Shadow of Tragedy: 1. Song as performance and the emergence of French opera; 2. The opera king; 3. The ascendance of music and the disintegration of the hero in Armide; 4. The disruption of poetics I: Medee's excessive voice; 5. The disruption of poetics II: Hippolyte et Aricie and the reinvention of tragedy; Part II: Opera and Enlightenment: From Private Sensation to Public Feeling: 6. Heart strings; 7. Music, sympathy, and identification at the Opéra-Comique; 8. Architectural visions of lyric theater and spectatorship; 9. Opera and common sense: Lacépède's Poetique de la musique; Conclusions; Works Cited; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"It goes beyond strict musical analysis and examines these oeuvres and their contexts from a broad cultural perspective, drawing on the writings of contemporary philosophers and commentators." Opera Quarterly

"This book is not an easy read, but any time spent between its covers will be amply rewarded.... a fluently written study that moves smoothly across the decades to become a cultural history of French opera from its origins to the Revolution.... Highly recommended." Choice

"Like a handy toolbox for singers and teachers, Miller's book provides detailed, well-rounded discussions of vocal technique, pedagogical issues, and performance concerns in one place, a rare scenario. As wel, the appendices are excellent for quick reference about vocal repertoire and IPA symbols. A must-have for anyone involved in the vocal field." — Opera Journal

"Thomas provides an excellent distillation of the conflict between seventeenth-century writers who championed staged tragedy and those who welcomed and defended tragédie en musique. Downing Thomas' book is an important addition to the study of the development of French opera, particularly for its blend of historical, philosophical, cultural, and critical studies." Opera Today, Deborah Kauffman, University of Northern Colorado

"Rather than answering all the questions raised closing off all possibilities, Thomas opens up new insights, draws together interesting primary sources, and engages in dialog with secondary literature from several disciplines." Notes

From the Publisher