Viva la Liberta! - Politics in Opera
Uploaded by Admin on Nov 27, 1999
Imprint Information
Viva la Liberta! - Politics in Opera by Anthony Arblaster is published by Verso in 1992 in London, Great Britain. It was the book's first edition and publication. The book contains 340 pages of text, no illustrations, and includes a tables of contents, nine main chapters, conclusion, notes and and an index. The chapters start with the period of modern politics, the French Revolution in 1789 and with "Mozart: Class Conflict and Enlightenment" from that period till modern opera / musicals in "Democratic Opera: Victims as Heroes". All nine chapters are written by the same author, Anthony Arblaster. Each chapter tries to concentrate on one to a few composers from the same period who share similar political views and actions. Each chapter can be viewed as an individual work / essay. The nine chapters follow the time frame sequentially and are respectively: Ch.1 Mozart: Class Conflict and Enlightenment, Ch.2 Opera and Revolution, Ch.3 Patria Oppressa: Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Risorgimento (Nationalism I), Ch.4 Verdi: the Liberal Patriot, Ch.5 Wagner: from Revolution to Racism, Ch.6 Russia, Czechoslovakia and a Footnote on England (Nationalism II), Ch.7 Women in Opera, Ch.8 Interlude - Opera without Politics: Puccini and Strauss and Ch.9 Democratic Opera: Victims as Heroes.
The introduction and conclusion helps in giving coherence to the vast time frame of two hundread years and the different emphasis on political of composers in their works. The detailed index is also helpful in the cross referencing a particular work or composer which might be mentioned in different chapters for comparisons. The notes offer a detailed bibliography with chance for further reference material on the issue of politics in opera.
General Summary
Although the book does not formally state the meaning of "politics", the definition used throughout the book is the "beliefs about how a country ought to be governed" instead of politics as in political power and actions or activities. The book also presents the argument of social context at the particular period and place as "politics" and that if opera lacks the political element (social context), it lacks a convincing element in which communication and mutual consensus among composer and audience would be neglected, that opera cannot be 'pure' music. Music and especially opera has to be out of 'something', a 'something' that lies outside and beyond the music itself and in many instances, political beliefs play are a major part in it. The...