The Musical Language of Italian Opera, 1813-1859 (OXFORD STUDIES IN MUSIC THEORY)

The Musical Language of Italian Opera, 1813-1859 (OXFORD STUDIES IN MUSIC THEORY)
by: William Rothstein (Author)
Publisher: OUP USA
Publication Date: 18 Dec. 2022
Language: English
Print Length: 544 pages
ISBN-10: 0197609686
ISBN-13: 9780197609682
Book Description
Though studying opera often requires attention to aesthetics, libretti, staging, singers, compositional history, and performance history, the music itself is central. This book examines operatic music by five Italian composers―Rossini, Bellini, Mercadante, Donizetti, and Verdi―and one non-Italian, Meyerbeer, during the period from Rossini’s first international successes to Italian unification. Detailed analyses of form, rhythm, melody, and harmony reveal concepts of musical structure different from those usually discussed by music theorists, calling into question the notion of a common practice. Taking an eclectic analytical approach, author William Rothstein uses ideas originating in several centuries, from the sixteenth to the twenty-first, to argue that operatic music can be heard not only as passionate vocality but also in terms of musical forms, pitch structures, and rhythmic patterns―that is, as carefully crafted music worth theoretical attention. Although no single theory accounts for everything, Rothstein’s analysis shows how certain recurring principles define a distinctively Italian practice, one that left its mark on the German repertoire more familiar to music theorists.

About the Author

Review To say that this book is highly anticipated is an understatement. Rothstein, a brilliant music theorist, engages with a vast array of past and present scholars, providing historical research and context for his operatic investigations. There is a lot of variety in this scholarly buffet―something for everyone’s taste. ― Deborah Burton, Associate Professor, Boston University About the Author William Rothstein is Professor of Music Theory at Queens College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He previously taught at Amherst College, Oberlin College, and the University of Michigan. He is author of Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music and co-author (with Charles Burkhart) of Anthology for Musical Analysis. He has written and lectured extensively on music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with special emphasis on musical rhythm, Schenkerian theory and analysis, and nineteenth-century Italian opera.