A Language For German Opera

Content Introductory Remarks on Word-Music Relations: "Mein selbst ander ich" Forms for Early German Opera in Dresden: Heinrich Schutz, Martin Opitz and Augustus Buchner Two Directions for the Early German Opera Libretto: Georg Philipp Harsdorffer and Simon Dach German Language Opera in Dresden, 1650 -1680 The Turning Point: Caspar Ziegler's Von den Madrigalen (1653) and Initial Signs of its Impact in Dresden and Wolfenbuttel The Final Pieces of the Puzzle: Festspiele in Rudolstadt (1665 -1667) and "Die hallische Oper" (1660 -1679) Three Operas at the Threshold of Maturity: Rosander und Rosimene (1679), Floretto (1683), and Die Drey Tochter Cecrops (1679) Opera as Poetic Genre and Source of Poetic Forms: "das galanteste Stuck der Poesie" Bibliographies Indices

"Die Frist ist um-Navigate the Language of 10 German Operas" is a compass, made of the author's passion for music and language. Written for singers, vocal students and their teachers this book steers its readers through the treacherous waters of the German operatic language. At first, the readers get aquainted with the most relevant grammar rules presented in concise and comprehensible explanations. Then, they will learn a simplified method to access the meaning of a text without having to consult a translation. Now, the way is clear to approach the 10 most popular operas of the German repertoire. After providing intriguing background on the composers and librettists and their times, the book introduces the operas' style, vocabulary and phrases, often uncovering the wit and depth of colloquial and local language. Highlight of each chapter are the linguistic interpretations of the most important-altogether 36-arias and duets. If the readers started reading this book fearful of a language that seems to be intimidating and complicated, they will finish it with a deeper understanding of the lyrics. From "Die Zauberflöte" to "Der Rosenkavalier," from "Hänsel und Gretel" to "Tristan und Isolde"-they might find that discovering the beauty of the poetry is as rewarding as mastering the beauty of the music. "Die Frist ist um" is a reliable companion for role preparation and auditions and will help its readers to be successful in the increasingly competitive world of opera.

With nearly three thousand new entries, the revised edition of Operas in German: A Dictionary is the most current encyclopedic treatment of operas written specifically to a German text from the seventeenth century through 2016. Musicologist Margaret Ross Griffel details the operas’ composers, scores, librettos, first performances, and bibliographic sources. Four appendixes then list composers, librettists, authors whose works inspired or were adapted for the opera librettos, and a chronological listing of the entries in the A–Z section. The bibliography details other dictionaries and encyclopedias, performance studies, collections of plot summaries, general studies on operas, sources on locales where opera premieres took place, works on the history of operas in German, and selective volumes on individual opera composers, librettists, producers, directors, and designers. Finally, two indexes list the main characters in each opera and the names of singers, conductors, producers, composers, directors, choreographers, and arrangers. The revised edition of Operas in German provides opera historians, musicologists, performers, and opera lovers with an invaluable resource for continued study and enjoyment. As the most current encyclopedic collection of German opera from the seventeenth century through the twenty-first, Operas in German is an invaluable resource for opera historians, musicologists, performers, and opera lovers.

This book shows nineteenth-century German opera’s entanglement with national identity formation, adding a significant perspective to discussions about Wagner’s relation to German nationalism by interpreting his esthetic endeavors as a continuation of previous campaigns for the genre’s emancipation.

Stephen C. Meyer details the intricate relationships between the operas Der FreischÃ1⁄4tz and Euryanthe, and contemporary discourse on both the "Germany of the imagination" and the new nation itself. In so doing, he presents excerpts from a wide range of philosophical, political, and musical writings, many of which are little known and otherwise unavailable in English. Individual chapters trace the multidimensional concept of German and "foreign" opera through the 19th century. Meyer's study of Der FreischÃ1⁄4tz places the work within the context of emerging German nationalism, and a chapter on Euryanthe addresses the opera's stylistic and topical shifts in light of changing cultural and aesthetic circumstances. As a result, Meyer argues that the search for a new German opera was not merely an aesthetic movement, but a political and social critique as well.

Medievalism, or the reception or interpretation of the Middle Ages, was a prominent aesthetic for German opera composers in the first half of the nineteenth century. A healthy competition to establish a Germanic operatic repertory arose at this time, and fascination with medieval times served a critical role in shaping the desire for a unified national and cultural identity. Using operas by Weber, Schubert, Marshner, Wagner, and Schumann as case studies, Richardson investigates what historical information was available to German composers in their recreations of medieval music, and whether or not such information had any demonstrable effect on their compositions. The significant role that nationalism played in the choice of medieval subject matter for opera is also examined, along with how audiences and critics responded to the medieval milieu of these works. In this book, readers will gain a clear understanding of the rise of German opera in the early nineteenth century and the cultural and historical context in which this occurred. This book will also provide insight on the reception of medieval history and medieval music in nineteenth-century Germany, and will demonstrate how medievalism and nationalism were mutually reinforcing phenomena at this time and place in history.

This volume covers aspects of opera translation within the Western world and in Asia, as well as some of opera’s many travels between continents, countries, languages and cultures—and also between genres and media. The concept of ‘adaptation’ is a thread running through the sixteen contributions, which encompass a variety of composers, operas, periods and national traditions. Sung translation, libretto translation, surtitling, subtitling are discussed from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Exploration of aspects such as the relationship between language and music, multimodality, intertextuality, cultural and linguistic transfer, multilingualism, humour, identity and stereotype, political ideology, the translator’s voice and the role of the audience is driven by a shared motivation: a love of opera and of the beauty it has never ceased to provide through the centuries, and admiration for the people who write, compose, perform, direct, translate, or otherwise contribute to making the joy of opera a part of our lives.