Vox Eurydice

The Ascent of the Female Rescuer in German-Language Opera

Vox Eurydice cover

Vox Eurydice

The Ascent of the Female Rescuer in German-Language Opera

Quantity
In stock
$153.90 RRP $171.00 Website price saving $17.10 (10%)

Description

Vox Eurydice: The Ascent of the Female Rescuer in German-Language Opera is a mythological and depth psychological analysis written from a feminist perspective, on the emergence of the theme of rescue stories, and specifically plots where a female heroine saves a male character, which arose in German-language opera during the roughly one hundred years that spanned the lifetimes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner.
Margaret Ann Mendenhall argues that the German-language works of these three musical giants grew out of the rescue story paradigm, as an extension of Italian opera buffa and French opéra comique. This is reflected in Mozart's Singspiele and Beethoven's one completed opera, Fidelio, considered the epitome of the German-language rescue opera. The author then examines Wagner's oeuvre, not only his ten mature masterpieces, but also three earlier operas and his unfinished pieces. The author also posits that the need for the ascent of the female rescuer in German-language opera was unconsciously tied into the desire of the people of the German-speaking territories for a homeland, and how the presence of this archetype subsided soon after a German nation was established in 1871.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Orpheus and Eurydice Myth and the Development of Opera
Chapter 3: Mozart and German-Language Opera in the Early Classical Era
Chapter 4: Beethoven, A Bridge between Classical and Romantic Opera
Chapter 5: Richard Wagner, His Early Life, and Works
Chapter 6: Wagner's Mature Romantic Operas
Chapter 7: Operas Composed During Wagner's Transformation
Chapter 8: Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal
Chapter 9: Summary
References
About the Author

Product details

Published 15 Dec 2024
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 206
ISBN 9781666961218
Imprint Lexington Books
Illustrations 2 b/w illustrations
Dimensions 229 x 152 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Related Titles

Get 30% off in the May sale - for one week only

Environment: Staging