Book contents
- Music Theatre and the Holy Roman Empire
- Music Theatre and the Holy Roman Empire
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Musical Examples
- Acknowledgements
- Note on the Text
- Abbreviations
- Introduction: Music for an Imperial Stage
- 1 An Empire of Theatres
- 2 (In)forming Repertoire
- 3 Letters from the German Stage
- 4 ‘Germany’s Daughter, Melodrama’
- 5 Staging Imperial Identity
- Epilogue: Echoes of an Empire
- Appendix 1: German Theatre Companies and Performance Locations Reported in the Theater-Kalender, c.1800
- Appendix 2: Music Theatre and Musicians Referenced in the Theater-Kalender, c.1800
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Introduction: Music for an Imperial Stage
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 June 2022
- Music Theatre and the Holy Roman Empire
- Music Theatre and the Holy Roman Empire
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Musical Examples
- Acknowledgements
- Note on the Text
- Abbreviations
- Introduction: Music for an Imperial Stage
- 1 An Empire of Theatres
- 2 (In)forming Repertoire
- 3 Letters from the German Stage
- 4 ‘Germany’s Daughter, Melodrama’
- 5 Staging Imperial Identity
- Epilogue: Echoes of an Empire
- Appendix 1: German Theatre Companies and Performance Locations Reported in the Theater-Kalender, c.1800
- Appendix 2: Music Theatre and Musicians Referenced in the Theater-Kalender, c.1800
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The Introduction places the book into its historical and historiographic contexts. German-language music theatre often plays a supporting role in musical histories of Central Europe circa 1800, as does the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire was home to over 300 territories that were linked by politics and culture. Physically networking the Empire was Europe's first systematic postal system, which served as a precondition for the operation of the hundreds of theatre companies that performed within its territories . By first considering the contemporary and scholarly distinctions between German-language theatre and the 'Nationaltheater', this introduction draws on recent historiography to provide a musicological audience with the key features of, and concepts surrounding, the Holy Roman Empire. It then traces this long misunderstood polity's place in music historiography and ultimately posits it as an ideal framework to investigate the world of German music and theatre in the decades leading up to the turn of the nineteenth century.
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- Music Theatre and the Holy Roman EmpireThe German Musical Stage at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century, pp. 1 - 41Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022