Halina Goldberg
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195130737
- eISBN:
- 9780199867424
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195130737.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Led by Bogusƚawski, Elsner, and Kurpiński, the National Theater — the locale of major operatic productions — became the central cultural institution in Warsaw. It featured a rich repertory of French, ...
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Led by Bogusƚawski, Elsner, and Kurpiński, the National Theater — the locale of major operatic productions — became the central cultural institution in Warsaw. It featured a rich repertory of French, German, and Italian operas. The operatic genres of operas performed in Warsaw ranged from Singspiel, through opéra comique, tragedie lyrique, opera seria, and buffa, to grand opera. This chapter discusses the introduction into Warsaw of the newest foreign works, ushering in the Romantic aesthetic in opera. At the same time, the librettists and composers associated with the National Theater created vernacular operas, which often addressed subjects from Polish history, and conveyed patriotic sentiments though text and folkloristic music. The history and repertory of the national theater is presented, and Chopin's involvement with Warsaw's operatic scene is explained.Less
Led by Bogusƚawski, Elsner, and Kurpiński, the National Theater — the locale of major operatic productions — became the central cultural institution in Warsaw. It featured a rich repertory of French, German, and Italian operas. The operatic genres of operas performed in Warsaw ranged from Singspiel, through opéra comique, tragedie lyrique, opera seria, and buffa, to grand opera. This chapter discusses the introduction into Warsaw of the newest foreign works, ushering in the Romantic aesthetic in opera. At the same time, the librettists and composers associated with the National Theater created vernacular operas, which often addressed subjects from Polish history, and conveyed patriotic sentiments though text and folkloristic music. The history and repertory of the national theater is presented, and Chopin's involvement with Warsaw's operatic scene is explained.
Katherine K. Preston
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199371655
- eISBN:
- 9780199371679
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199371655.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western, Opera
This chapter examines the two most important English-language troupes active during the late 1860s and early 1870s. Caroline Richings, known as a “manageress” or “directress,” performed before, ...
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This chapter examines the two most important English-language troupes active during the late 1860s and early 1870s. Caroline Richings, known as a “manageress” or “directress,” performed before, during, and after the Civil War. Her success shows conclusively that Americans of the immediate postwar period were still interested in English-language opera, even though most music critics believed that this style of performance was old-fashioned and passé. Many believed that Richings created the English-language-opera renaissance in America. The Scottish soprano Euphrosyne Parepa arrived in America in 1865 as part of an itinerant concert troupe and subsequently sang in Italian-language opera companies. Richings’s success and popularity inspired her, and she organized her own English-language troupe, which quickly eclipsed that of her competitor. The success of these two prime donne—especially in the face of skepticism about Americans’ interest in vernacular opera—illuminates the operatic tastes of American audiences in the immediate postwar period.Less
This chapter examines the two most important English-language troupes active during the late 1860s and early 1870s. Caroline Richings, known as a “manageress” or “directress,” performed before, during, and after the Civil War. Her success shows conclusively that Americans of the immediate postwar period were still interested in English-language opera, even though most music critics believed that this style of performance was old-fashioned and passé. Many believed that Richings created the English-language-opera renaissance in America. The Scottish soprano Euphrosyne Parepa arrived in America in 1865 as part of an itinerant concert troupe and subsequently sang in Italian-language opera companies. Richings’s success and popularity inspired her, and she organized her own English-language troupe, which quickly eclipsed that of her competitor. The success of these two prime donne—especially in the face of skepticism about Americans’ interest in vernacular opera—illuminates the operatic tastes of American audiences in the immediate postwar period.
