A Feminist perspective on opera interpretation : the case of Richard Wagner's "Der fliegende Holländer" / Courtney W. Howland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Howland, Courtney W., 1954- author.

Series:

Musikwissenschaft (Münster in Westfalen, Germany) ; Bd. 19.

Reihe Musikwissenschaft

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883. Fliegende Holländer.

Wagner, Richard.

Opera--Germany--19th century.

Opera.

Feminism and music.

Physical Description:

xiv, 258 pages ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

[Münster] : Lit Verlag, 2014.

Summary:

Drawing upon gender studies, musicology, German studies, and literary theory, A Feminist Perspective on Opera Interpretation develops a feminist analytic framework for interpreting opera and for critiquing the usual interpretations of opera, using Richard Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer as a case study. The feminist analysis, in contrast to prior interpretations of Holländer, identifies the action of gender and religion as at the of the opera's main woman character, This analysis allows for recognition of Senta's power and moral agency and demonstrates that the theory of interpretation than the opera text determines the narrative. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I The Feminist-Gaze Reading

Chapter 1 Developing a Feminist-Theory Approach 13

i The Feminist-Gaze Framework 17

ii Example of a Feminist-Gaze Reading: Recognizing a Stalker 26

iii The Feminist Gaze and Opera Music 29

Chapter 2 Dutchman Concepts: Treue and Liebe 33

i German Medieval Epic Poeny 34

ii Goethe's Arie 36

Chapter 3 Contrasting Treue and Liebe in the Dutchman 41

i The Setting of the Opera 46

ii Treue in Principle: Senta's Commitment to the Idea of Redemption 50

iii Liebe in Action: Erik the Stalker and His Liebeswahn 58

iv Treue in Action: Senta Meets the Dutchman 68

v Treue Triumphs: Senta Redeems the Dutchman 81

Chapter 4 Themes of the Feminist-Gaze Reading of the Dutchman 97

i Senta Is Christ-Like 97

ii Senta as Metaphor for Taking an Ethical and Moral Stand 103

iii The Dutchman as Critique of Religious Belief 104

Part II The Feminist-Gaze Critique of the Dutchman Canon

Chapter 5 Interpretive Communities: the Dutchman Canon 109

i The Interpretive Community of the Dutchman 110

ii The Dutchman Canon: Conforming to Interpretive Strategies 111

iii Privileging the Importance of Wagner's Intent 113

iv Substituting the Love-Plot Summary for the Dutchman Text 120

v Reading with an Unacknowledged Masculine Gaze 122

vi The Dutchman Canon's Conventions 127

vii Critiquing the Canon 132

Chapter 6 The General Dogma of the Dutchman Canon 133

i The Influence of Heine's Narrative of the Flying Dutchman 133

ii The Dutchman Represents the Wandering Jew 136

iii Senta Is a Typical Wagner Love Heroine 139

iv The Dutchman Represents the Alienated Artist 144

v Erik is Credible 146

Chapter 7 The Dutchman Canon's Masculine Gaze Begins with Wagner 151

i The Ideal Self-Negating Love-Her-Man Woman 152

ii The Dreamy Insane-in-Love Woman 154

Chapter 8 The Masculine Gaze I: Senta Is Controlled by Love and Lacks Moral Agency 157

i The Early Canon 158

ii The Twentieth Century before World War II 160

iii The Canon after World War II 163

iv The Canon and Early Feminist Perspectives 167

v The Contemporary Canon 172

Chapter 9 The Masculine Gaze II: Senta Is Controlled by Insanity or Evil and Lacks Moral Agency 193

i The Nineteenth Century 194

ii Post World War II 196.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

3643905378

9783643905376

OCLC:

881140729