The Beginnings of Opera in Europe
Origins, Adaptations, and Cultural Exchange
Edited by Michael Klaper Edited by Nastasia Heckendorff
Paperback (Published)
(May 2026)
ISBN: 9782503583648
Price: $125.00
Out of stock
This is the first book-length publication dealing with the different beginnings of opera in its homeland Italy as well as in other parts of Europe. Its different chapters, written by experts in the field from all over the world, are concerned with diverse regional traditions, literary and musical aspects of the genre, questions of pe
This is the first book dedicated to the early history of opera in Europe from a comparative perspective. It takes into account not only the diverse beginnings of opera in Italy around 1600 (Florence, Rome, Mantua), but also the mechanisms of reception and adaptation of the new genre outside of Italy in the following decades (in the German-speaking realm, and in the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania). Questions of genre and its terminology are discussed as well as the history, function, and contents of librettos and their special linguistic and structural devices. Special attention is paid to issues of performance practice, such as the assignation of certain types of roles to certain types of singers, and staging. In order to broaden this perspective, the influence of Spanish 17th-century spoken drama on the early Venetian opera is explored. Furthermore, the beginnings of regional operatic traditions outside of Italy (such as in Spain and France) play a central role, along with the specifically English concept of ‘dramatic opera’, and the question of music in spoken drama. In this way, new and fascinating insights can be gained into opera in its initial phase (roughly from 1600 to 1680), including its development and regional styles, its acceptance or rejection, and the critical discourse surrounding the genre.
- Edited by Michael Klaper
- Edited by Nastasia Heckendorff
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