![]() It may also be used colloquially in an imprecise sense to refer to 'serious opera without spoken dialogue'. ![]() ![]() The term 'grand opera' is also used in a broader application in respect of contemporary or later works of similar monumental proportions from France, Germany, Italy, and other countries. The term is particularly applied (sometimes specifically used in its French-language equivalent grand opéra, pronounced ) to certain productions of the Paris Opéra from the late 1820s to around 1860 'grand opéra' has sometimes been used to denote the Paris Opéra itself. Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events. It is a must read for music historians and directors of staged performances of baroque opera, but also essential for political and social historians and those interested in comparative literature.”-Ellen T.Degas (1871): Ballet of the Nuns from Meyerbeer's Robert le diable (1831) one of the earliest sensations of grand opera ![]() “This enjoyable, compelling, and beautifully organized book is a truly significant contribution to the field. Tarrant, editor of the Oxford Classical Texts edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses Ketterer is a rare classicist who also knows his way, musically and historically, in the world of baroque opera."-R. "This work is a welcome addition to our understanding of opera's rich musical tradition. "A very fine book, recommended to all who are interested in opera before(and including) Mozart."- Comparative Drama"A wealth of insightful and virtuosos interpretations of many of the best-known historical characters in early Italian opera."- Early Music Ketterer has performed a signal service in bringing his classical knowledge to the attention of musicologists, and his musical perceptiveness to the community of classicists."- Classical Journal Roman history provided these 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. Handel in particular is a unifying figure in this history: he began his career in Germany, refined his craft in Italy, and rose to heights of renown in England, composing for aristocracy and royalty alike. Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart, and Cimarosa were only the most renowned of the many composers drawn to Roman subjects. Following opera from its origins in seventeenth-century Venice to Napoleon’s invasion of Italy, Ketterer shows how opera was preoccupied with Roman historical figures as heroes, lovers, and fools. He also pays close attention to the composers’ individual approaches to developing their librettos. Ketterer tracks the changes as operas’ Roman subjects crossed generations and national boundaries. As opera spread to England and Germany, the treatment of Roman subjects changed to reflect national differences. When modern opera developed in the baroque period, Rome provided settings and subject matter for librettists and composers. ![]() The examples of Rome have often been resurrected for the opera stage to display the exceptional grandeur, glory, and tragedy of Roman figures. About the BookThe 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. ![]()
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