Opera [antikvár]

Preface A good, succinct definition of opera is hard to come by. The word 'opera' itself is far from satisfactory, in that it harbours too many built-in prejudices and begs too many questions; some such term as 'lyric stage' is perhaps to be preferred. The standpoint adopted in this book is that 'opera' is not an isolated form but a branch of the theatre, and deserves to be considered as such. Its essentials are dramatic confrontation and dialogue, intensified by music both on stage and in the orchestra. Like true drama, it transcends mere narrative. Its "sub-categories also resist simple definition: opéra-comique is not necessarily 'comic' opera; opera seria is 'serious' opera in only one rather narrow aspect; 'operetta' has come to mean something more specific than merely 'a little opera'; and so on. Moreover, the categories overlap to such an extent that attempts at strict definition can become confusing. I have tried to give sufficient detail for the broad divisions to be clear. The criss-cross of styles, movements and languages precludes a straightforward narrative on simple chronological lines, and, whatever arrangement is adopted, some backtracking is unavoidable. For example, in the early seventeenth century opera (defined then as 'dramma per música' - drama through music) spread rapidly from Italy to France and thence to England in a clear, linear sequence. But complications soon set in, and I have preferred to trace the lines of development in the latter two countries right through to the end of the eighteenth century (Chapters Three and Four) before turning to the great Italian operatic colonization of Europe which also began in the seventeenth century, but whose finest flowering was in the eighteenth. Similar problems arose over the nineteenth-century nationalist movements (Chapter Eleven), where the most important, that of Russia, is followed through into the twentieth century to about the 1917 Revolution. All writers on opera face a language problem. The general principle which 1 have adopted with regard to titles in French, Italian or German is to give the opera its correct title the first time it is mentioned and thereafter, in so far as is possible, to use its Enghsh equivalent. Only important titles, including those of operas in the current repertory, are translated in the body of the text, but all, where 7