1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910828586703321

Autore

Meyer Stephen C. <1963->

Titolo

Carl Maria von Weber and the search for a German opera / / Stephen C. Meyer

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Bloomington, : Indiana University Press, 2003

ISBN

1-282-07192-0

9786612071928

0-253-10133-6

0-253-10962-0

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (268 p.)

Disciplina

782.1092

Soggetti

Opera - Germany - 18th century

Opera - Germany - 19th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p.   ) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction : Inventing German opera -- The native and the foreign : models for the German opera -- Der Freischutz and the character of the nation -- Euryanthe : reconfiguration and transformation -- Epilogue : Institutions, aesthetics, and genre after Weber's death -- Appendices. Synopsis of Das unterbrochene Opferfest ; Comparative table : versions of Das unterbrochene Opferfest ; Synopsis of Mehul's Joseph ; Comparative table : revisions to the final chorus of Joseph.

Sommario/riassunto

Stephen C. Meyer details the intricate relationships between the operas Der Freischütz and Euryanthe, and contemporary discourse on both the "Germany of the imagination" and the new nation itself. In so doing, he presents excerpts from a wide range of philosophical, political, and musical writings, many of which are little known and otherwise unavailable in English. Individual chapters trace the multidimensional concept of German and "foreign" opera through the 19th century. Meyer's study of Der Freischütz places the work within the context of emerging German nationalism, and a chapter on Euryanthe addresses the opera's stylistic and topical shifts in light of changing cultural and aesthetic circumstances. As a result, Meyer argues that the search for a new German opera was not merely an aesthetic movement, but a



political and social critique as well.