BOOK

Curtain, gong, steam : Wagnerian technologies of nineteenth-century opera

Kreuzer, Gundula Katharina, 1975- author

2018

Overview

\"In this innovative book, Gundula Kreuzer argues for the foundational role of technologies in the conception, production, and study of nineteenth-century opera. She shows how composers increasingly incorporated novel audiovisual effects in their works and how the uses and meanings of the required machineries consistently changed, sometimes still resonating in contemporary stagings, performance art, and popular culture. Focusing on devices (which she dubs 'Wagnerian technologies') intended to amalgamate opera's various media while veiling their mechanics, Kreuzer offers a practical counternarrative to Wagner's idealist theories of total illusionism. Curtain, Gong, Steam's multifaceted exploration of the three titular technologies repositions Wagner as catalyst more than inventor in the history of operatic production. With its broad chronological and geographical scope, the book deepens our understanding of the material and mechanical conditions of historical operatic practice as well as of individual works, both well known and obscure\"--Provided by publisher.

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Subject: Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883 Aesthetics. / Opera and technology History 19th century. / Opera Production and direction History 19th century. / Opera Stage-setting and scenery History 19th century. / Opera and technology History 20th century. / Opera Production and direction History 20th century. / Opera Stage-setting and scenery History 20th century.
• ISBN: 9780520279681

Item info:

1 item available

1 item total in all locations

Holdings :

Call Number	Copies	Material	Location
ML1700.K75 2018	1	BOOK	AUTOSTORE