A short history of opera / Donald Jay Grout.

Author/creator Grout, Donald Jay
Other author Williams, Hermine Weigel.
Format Book
EditionThird edition / with Hermine Weigel Williams.
Publication InfoNew York : Columbia University Press, 1988.
Descriptionix, 913 pages : illustrations, music ; 24 cm
Subjects
Opera.

Contents Music and drama to the end of the sixteenth century. The lyric theater of the Greeks ; Medieval dramatic music ; The immediate forerunners of opera -- The seventeenth century. The beginnings ; Monteverdi's Orfeo ; Other Italian court operas of the early seventeenth century ; Italian opera in the later seventeenth century: in Italy ; Italian opera in the later seventeenth century: in Germany ; Early German opera ; Lully and the opera in France ; English opera -- The eighteenth century. Masters of the early eighteenth century ; The opera seria ; The operas of Gluck ; The comic opera ; The operas of Mozart -- The nineteenth century. The turn of the century ; Grand opera ; Opéra comique, operetta, and lyric opera ; Italian opera: Verdi and his contemporaries ; The Romantic opera in Germany ; The operas of Wagner ; The later nineteenth century -- Nationalism and opera. National opera -- The twentieth century. The first half of the century ; The recent past.
Abstract When first published in 1947, the book immediately achieved international status as a classic in the field. Now, four decades later, this thoroughly revised and expanded edition--the first revision in over twenty years--will inform and entertain opera lovers just as its predecessors have. The third edition of the book incorporates new scholarship in tracing the most important developments in the evolution of musical drama. Starting with the lyric theater of the Greeks, medieval dramatic music, and other forerunners, the book then reveals the genre's beginnings in the seventeenth century and follows its progress to the present day. Extremely thorough in its coverage, the book gives the reader a selective grounding in the present state of knowledge about the history of the art. This book is not limited to standard performance repertoire of operas, but includes works considered to be important for the genre's development. Its breadth has been expanded to include a discussion of opera from Canada, Latin America, and China. The five main sections of the second edition have been expanded into six, with national opera now constituting an entire separate section. And, the section on twentieth-century opera has been completely reorganized, with a chapter addressing operas written and produced between 1900 and 1950 and another covering those from 1950 to about 1984. Containing an extensive bibliography, nearly one hundred musical examples, and two dozen illustrations, the book is now more than ever the book to turn to for anyone who wants or needs to know about the development of the genre.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 731-839) and index.
LCCN 87009374
ISBN0231061927 (alkaline paper)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Music Stacks ML1700 .G83 1988 ✔ Available Place Hold
Music Music Stacks ML1700 .G83 1988 ✔ Available Place Hold