Opera: The Art of Dying (Convergences)

Description

Richard Strauss in Capriccio and Salieri in Prima la musica e poi la parole (First the music, then the words) created operas to tackle the tension between the importance of words versus music in Opera. Neither one resolved the issue. The authors of this book have no doubt what is more important, the words. The book is brilliantly written about the text, the plot and the story of the operas it mentions. From their perspective, the music is there only to serve the text, and it is minimally mentioned through out the book.

I would argue that good Operas, in particular those dealing with death (or fear of death) and/or love, the most recurrent themes in Opera, allows us to comprehend or at least sense through the music what words can not explain.

This book brilliantly and with plenty of examples, describes the literary aspects of death in opera. It is informative and easy to follow. The music half of the book is missing...

Contents ......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Introduction: Music and “Murky Death”......Page 14 1. The Contemplation of Death......Page 28 2. Eros and Thanatos: Richard Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde......Page 58 3. “All That Is, Ends”: Living while Dying in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen......Page 86 4. Orphic Rituals of Bereavement......Page 109 5. “’Tis a Consummation Devoutly to Be Wish’d”: Staging Suicide......Page 136 6. The Undead......Page 159 Coda: “Be Acquainted with Death Betimes . . .”......Page 197 Notes......Page 202 Acknowledgments......Page 246 Index......Page 248