Sudden death in opera : love, mortality and transcendence on the lyric stage / by Michael Trimble, Robert Ignatius Letellier and Dale Hesdorffer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trimble, Michael R., author.

Letellier, Robert Ignatius, author.

Hesdorffer, Dale, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Death in opera.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (680 pages)

Place of Publication:

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, [2021]

Summary:

An aspect of dying in opera, rarely observed or commented on, is Sudden Unexpected Death. There are many deaths in this melodramatic genre: most follow expected causes like murder, suicide, or old age. This book explores those deaths which occur without obvious natural causes. These are often central to the overall drama of the opera, representing denouements forming the epiphany of the story and the apotheosis for the audience. The book identifies 50 operas where such events occur, exploring the role of the dramatis personae, the circumstances of their dying, and specific themes that emerge. These include a preponderance of females, especially in the 19th century, who die mainly at the end of the operas, often in the context of tragedy. It charts the growing awareness in the medical sciences of the unconscious forces driving human behaviour, including liminal mental states and trances, which influenced these operas and continue to affect human behaviour to the present day. In addition, the changing philosophies that are intertwined with operatic narratives, in particular stemming from Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, are important in the book's exegesis, as is the special role of Wagner's compositions. This leads to the exploration of recurrent concepts such as the Liebestod, the ewig Weibliche and redemption itself.

Contents:

Intro

Epigraph

Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Prolegomenon

Prologue

Part 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Part 2

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Part 3

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Part 4

Chapter 13

Part 5

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Colour Centrefold

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Part 6

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-5275-7535-7