Verdi and Puccini Heroines
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Verdi and Puccini Heroines by Ryan Edwards
This book comes at a time when opera-lovers, singers, directors, and critics alike are taking a new look at the dramatic soprano heroines created by Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, endeavoring to go beyond inherited scholarly interpretation and come to a richer understanding of these compelling female characters. Artistically limited by the bel canto musical tradition popular at the time, Verdi launched a new style dramma per musica. Drawing inspiration from romanticism, this style allowed his music to evolve with the action. This new style demanded a new soprano archetype. The seven women included in this book are all participants in an unending human quest, a quest for self-knowledge, for comprehension of the individual's place in the cosmic order of existence. They defy critical reductionism. Accordingly, the authors take a three-dimensional look at these heroines, examining seven plays: Il Trovatore, La Forza del Destino, Aida, La Boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot. The chapters, which are fully self-contained analyses, contain translations, illustrative music examples, supplementary notes and references to each opera's literary sources. The musical analysis, while thorough, is descriptive and accessible to all levels of readers.
Geoffrey Edwards is a Faculty Member of the International Opera Academy in Rome. He has extensive background in stage and opera, and was a Guest Instructor in the Department of Voice and Opera at Northwestern University. Ryan Edwards is the Vice President of the National Opera Association and Artistic Consultant and Master Teacher at the International Opera Academy in Rome.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780810839359 |
| ISBN 10 | 0810839350 |
| Title | Verdi and Puccini Heroines |
| Author | Ryan Edwards |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Scarecrow Press |
| Year published | 2000-12-26 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |