The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera
The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera

Author: Roger Parker

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 618

ISBN-13: 9780192854452

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A historical survey of opera, from its beginnings in Florence 400 years ago, up to opera in the 1990s.

The Musician as Entrepreneur, 1700-1914
The Musician as Entrepreneur, 1700-1914

Author: William Weber

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2004-11-09

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780253344564

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Leading international scholars consider the socio-economic history of Classical and Romantic musicians.

The Rise of the Modern Yiddish Theater
The Rise of the Modern Yiddish Theater

Author: Alyssa Quint

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2019-01-24

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0253038642

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Jewish Book Award Finalist: “Turns the fascinating life of Avrom Goldfaden into a multi-dimensional history of the Yiddish theater’s formative years.” —Jeffery Veidinger, author of Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire In this book, Alyssa Quint focuses on the early years of the modern Yiddish theater, from roughly 1876 to 1883, through the works of one of its best-known and most colorful figures, Avrom Goldfaden. Goldfaden (né Goldenfaden, 1840-1908) was one of the first playwrights to stage a commercially viable Yiddish-language theater, first in Romania and then in Russia. Goldfaden’s work was rapidly disseminated in print and his plays were performed frequently for Jewish audiences. Sholem Aleichem considered him as a forger of a new language that “breathed the European spirit into our old jargon.” Quint uses Goldfaden’s theatrical works as a way to understand the social life of Jewish theater in Imperial Russia. Through a study of his libretti, she looks at the experiences of Russian Jewish actors, male and female, to explore connections between culture as artistic production and culture in the sense of broader social structures. Quint explores how Jewish actors who played Goldfaden’s work on stage absorbed the theater into their everyday lives. Goldfaden’s theater gives a rich view into the conduct, ideology, religion, and politics of Jews during an important moment in the history of late Imperial Russia.

Musical History as Seen through Contemporary Eyes
Musical History as Seen through Contemporary Eyes

Author: Benjamin Knysak

Publisher: Hollitzer Wissenschaftsverlag

Published: 2022-02-04

Total Pages: 530

ISBN-13: 3990129740

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"Musical History as Seen through Contemporary Eyes", edited by Benjamin Knysak and Zdravko Blažeković, is a Festschrift published in honor of the musicologist H. Robert Cohen. Born in Baltimore, educated in New York, and with a career spanning France, Canada, and the United States, Cohen is the founder of the Répertoire international de la presse musicale (RIPM), the international project focused on the historic musical press. With research interests spanning print culture, music iconography, Hector Berlioz, musical France, and Giuseppe Verdi, this volume presents a collection of essays written by many friends and collaborators exploring these themes and many others. "Musical History as Seen through Contemporary Eyes" is a tribute to Cohen's contributions to musicology, librarianship, and information science spanning more than fifty years.

British and American Musical Theatre Exchanges in the West End (1924-1970)
British and American Musical Theatre Exchanges in the West End (1924-1970)

Author: Arianne Johnson Quinn

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-11-08

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 3031146638

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This monograph centres on the history of musical theatre in a space of cultural significance for British identity, namely the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which housed many prominent American productions from 1924-1970. It argues that during this period Drury Lane was the site of cultural exchanges between Britain and the United States that were a direct result of global engagement in two world wars and the evolution of both countries as imperial powers. The critical and public response to works of musical theatre during this period, particularly the American musical, demonstrates the shifting response by the public to global conflict, the rise of an American Empire in the eyes of the British government, and the ongoing cultural debates about the role of Americans in British public life. By considering the status of Drury Lane as a key site of cultural and political exchanges between the United States and Britain, this study allows us to gain a more complete portrait of the musical’s cultural significance in Britain.

American Orchestras in the Nineteenth Century
American Orchestras in the Nineteenth Century

Author: John Spitzer

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-03-07

Total Pages: 504

ISBN-13: 0226769771

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Studies of concert life in nineteenth-century America have generally been limited to large orchestras and the programs we are familiar with today. But as this book reveals, audiences of that era enjoyed far more diverse musical experiences than this focus would suggest. To hear an orchestra, people were more likely to head to a beer garden, restaurant, or summer resort than to a concert hall. And what they heard weren’t just symphonic works—programs also included opera excerpts and arrangements, instrumental showpieces, comic numbers, and medleys of patriotic tunes. This book brings together musicologists and historians to investigate the many orchestras and programs that developed in nineteenth-century America. In addition to reflecting on the music that orchestras played and the socioeconomic aspects of building and maintaining orchestras, the book considers a wide range of topics, including audiences, entrepreneurs, concert arrangements, tours, and musicians’ unions. The authors also show that the period saw a massive influx of immigrant performers, the increasing ability of orchestras to travel across the nation, and the rising influence of women as listeners, patrons, and players. Painting a rich and detailed picture of nineteenth-century concert life, this collection will greatly broaden our understanding of America’s musical history.

From Paris to Peoria
From Paris to Peoria

Author: R. Allen Lott

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2003-02-06

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 9780195348897

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It's difficult to imagine Franz Liszt performing in Peoria, but his contemporary and foremost rival, Sigismund Thalberg, did just that. During the mid-nineteenth century, Americans in more than a hundred cities--from Portland, Maine to Dubuque, Iowa to Mobile, Alabama--were treated to performances by some of Europe's most celebrated pianists. From Paris to Peoria deftly chronicles the visits of five of these pianists to the America of Mark Twain. Whether performing in small railroad towns throughout the Midwest or in gold-rush era California, these five charismatic pianists--Leopold de Meyer, Henri Herz, Sigismund Thalberg, Anton Rubinstein, and Hans von Bülow--introduced many Americans to the delights of the concert hall. With humor and insight, R. Allen Lott describes the glamour and the drudgery of the touring life, the transformation of American audiences from boisterous to reverent, and the establishment of the piano recital as a viable artistic and financial enterprise. Lott also explores the creative and sometimes outlandish publicity techniques of managers seeking to capitalize on prosperous but uncharted American markets. The result of extensive archival research, From Paris to Peoria is richly illustrated with concert programs, handbills, caricatures, and maps. A companion website, www.rallenlott.info, includes a comprehensive list of repertoires and itineraries, audio music examples, and transcriptions of selected primary sources. Certain to delight pianists, musicologists, and historians, From Paris to Peoria is an engaging, thoroughly researched, and often funny account of music and culture in nineteenth-century America.

Bel Canto Bully
Bel Canto Bully

Author: Philip Eisenbeiss

Publisher: Haus Publishing

Published: 2013-05-07

Total Pages: 509

ISBN-13: 1908323302

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Unscrupulous, devilishly ambitious and undeniably charismatic, Domenico Barbaja was the most celebrated Italian impresario of the early 1800s and one of the most intriguing characters to dominate the operatic empire of the period. Dubbed the "Viceroy of Naples", Barbaja was the influential force behind the careers of a plethora of artists including Vincenzo Bellini, Gioachino Rossini and the great mezzo-soprano Isabella Colbran. In this book, Eisenbeiss unlocks the enigma of this eccentric and fascinating personality that has been hitherto neglected.