Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables
- Introduction
- Part I The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
- Part II The nineteenth century
- Chapter 7 Romanticism and Romantic opera in Germany
- Chapter 8 Opera in nineteenth-century Italy
- Chapter 9 Grand opéra and the visual language of opera
- Chapter 10 The Wagnerian revolution
- Chapter 11 Nationalists: vernacular language and music
- Chapter 12 The role of the singer
- Part III The twentieth and twenty-first centuries
- Appendix 1 Motifs from The Ring used in Chapter 10
- Appendix 2 The development of singing voices in opera
- Appendix 3 The development of lyric theatre alternatives to ‘opera’
- Appendix 4 Some major operas and artistic and political events of the twentieth century, 1899--2008
- Glossary of key terms
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 9 - Grand opéra and the visual language of opera
from Part II - The nineteenth century
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables
- Introduction
- Part I The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
- Part II The nineteenth century
- Chapter 7 Romanticism and Romantic opera in Germany
- Chapter 8 Opera in nineteenth-century Italy
- Chapter 9 Grand opéra and the visual language of opera
- Chapter 10 The Wagnerian revolution
- Chapter 11 Nationalists: vernacular language and music
- Chapter 12 The role of the singer
- Part III The twentieth and twenty-first centuries
- Appendix 1 Motifs from The Ring used in Chapter 10
- Appendix 2 The development of singing voices in opera
- Appendix 3 The development of lyric theatre alternatives to ‘opera’
- Appendix 4 Some major operas and artistic and political events of the twentieth century, 1899--2008
- Glossary of key terms
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Although ‘Grand Opera’ is used as a general expression it is actually a technical term It refers to a specific kind of opera rooted in the French repertoire of the three decades following the Restoration. In particular it is associated with the serious operas of Auber, Halévy and Meyerbeer, significantly all written in collaboration with the playwright Eugène Scribe.
The interest in grand opera lies in the works themselves, but also in their integration of words, music and physical presentation. While all operas are designed for stage production, grand operas were inseparable from the production practices and values that were built into their very fabric. This emphasis influenced Verdi and Wagner but beyond that changed the understanding of opera as a theatrical form and the audiences’ expectation.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Opera , pp. 169 - 193Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012