Opera's second death / Slavoj Žižek and Mladen Dolar.
| Author/creator | Žižek, Slavoj |
| Other author | Dolar, Mladen. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | New York : Routledge, 2002. |
| Description | ix, 235 pages ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Introduction: For the love of opera / Slavoj Žižek, Mladen Dolar -- If music be the food of love / Mladen Dolar. The birth of opera from the spirit of absolutism ; Acheronta movebo ; The logic of mercy ; Opera buffa ; Syntax ; Die Entführung aus dem Serail ; Figaro ; Don Giovanni ; The opera in philosophy: Mozart and Kierkegaard ; La femme machine ; Machine in love ; A philosopher in the opera ; Machine and enjoyment ; The rationalistic myth of the enlightenment ; He is a man-Even more, he is a prince ; Three continuations -- Intermission -- "I do not order my dreams" / Slavoj Žižek. The death drive and the Wagnerian sublime ; The forced choice ; The disavowal ; "Deeper than the day could read" ; The what-ifs ; Tristan's journey to the bottom of the night ; Transgression? No, thanks! ; Wagner's sexualized politics ; The Moebius strip ; "The everlasting irony of community" ; Wagner with Kierkegaard ; Kundry's laughter ... ; ... and her kiss ; The Feminine versus Woman ; Interlude: The feminine excess ; Run, Isolde, run ; The cyberspace Tristan ; The morning after ; "It quacks, hoots, pants, and gasps" ; The separated flames ; No more running. |
| Abstract | Operas are about the meaning of love and life, and also very much about the meaning of death. Opera as a form, however, might even be dead itself. The last great operas are said to be those written around 1900. But, the psychoanalytic critic and philosopher Slavoj Žižek is quick to point out, 1900 is also the year in which Freud 'invents' psychoanalysis. Can this be a coincidence? This book is a passionate exploration of opera---the genre, its masterpieces, and the nature of death. Using a dazzling array of tools, Slavoj Žižek and coauthor Mladen Dolar explore the strange compulsions that overpower characters in Mozart and Wagner, as well as our own desires to die and to go to the opera. Mozart's understanding of psychoanalysis and Wagner's sense of humor are but two of the many surprises in this volume. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-231) and index. |
| LCCN | 2001019949 |
| ISBN | 0415930162 |
| ISBN | 0415930170 (pbk.) |