Music’s Obedient Daughter ed. by Sabine Lichtenstein (review)
- Music’s Obedient Daughter ed. by Sabine Lichtenstein
An astonishing range and breadth of essays are presented in this text, skillfully curated by Sabine Lichtenstein. The essays contained within hold thought-provoking examinations of the timeless relationship between text and music.
Unique to these seventeen essays is a refreshing emphasis on the treatment of music and text on an equal footing—they all treat opera from a literary perspective, [End Page 221] that is, from a basis on the libretto. The essays demonstrate how many of of the greatest works of opera came from this understanding. We are reminded of somewhat tempestuous artistic relationships—beginning with Striggio and Monteverdi, to Mozart and Varesco, to Puccini and Illica and Giacosa. Some composers, such as Pfitzner and Wagner, chose to avoid this struggle and simply wrote their own libretti.
The collection begins with Eddie Vetter’s “The Power of Music: Striggio and Montverdi’s L’Orfeo”, presenting the source of the libretto and the treatment of this by both composer and librettist.
Jacques Boogaart’s “Octavia Reincarnated: Busenello’s and Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea” explains how Monteverdi and Busenello manage the persona of Ottavia, providing an account of the first opera based on an historical character (9).
Tim Carter’s “In the Operatic Workshop: The Case of Varesco’s and Mozart’s Idomeneo” investigates various mutations of the sources for the text, and presents an outline of librettist and composer collaboration.
Caryl Clark’s “The Librettist’s Dilemma in London: Badini’s and Haydn’s Orfeo ed Euridice” reflects on the “conditions of possibility” portrayed in Badini’s libretto created for Haydn’s operatic debut in London (107).
Irmlind Capelle’s “Hans Sachs—The Relation of Lortzing’s Opera to Deinhardtein’s Drama” demonstrates the challenges Lortzing faced by introducing new elements within the drama, while attending to the original drama.
Heather Hadlock’s “Classical Parody and Burlesque in Orphée aux Enfers by Crémieux, Halévy and Offenbach” discusses modern French operetta and the origins of the libretto from the demi-monde of Paris.
John Neubauer’s “Burning the Heretics and Saving Don Carlos: Méry’s, Du Locle’s and Verdi’s Don Carlos” presents the various sources of the libretto, from Saint-Réal to Schiller and examines how a writer may choose to deviate from historical sources in the advancement of drama (192).
Katherine Syer’s “Tracing Wotan’s Incendiary Past: The Evolution of Storms and Fire in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen” considers the numerous changes that Wagner made to his libretto for the opera, highlighting the “process of reassignment and it’s far-reaching impact on the dramaturgy and the music of the Ring” (218).
Vincent Giroud’s “Manon at the Opera: From Prévost’s Manon Lescaut to Auber’s Manon Lescaut and Massenet’s Manon” provides a study of the various incarnations of the Manon character throughout opera, drawn from Abbé Prévost’s original tale.
Kasper van Kooten’s “Reflections on the Genesis and Dramaturgy of Illica’s, Giacosa’s and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly” focuses on Puccini’s divergent views from Illica’s and Giacosa’s libretto.
Helga Hushahn’s “The End of a Line: Strauss’ and Hofmannsthal’s Elektra” presents a complex relationship between a composer and a librettist, one that resulted in one of the most intriguing operas of the twentieth century.
Sabine Lichtenstein does double duty as editor and contributor in her stimulating [End Page 222] essay “Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina, Eine Musikalische Legende”, discussing the “stillness, mysticism and music” contained within this work (326).
Loes Dommering-Van Rongen’s contribution in “The Musical Personality of Don Quixote: Manuel De Falla’s El Retablo de Maese Pedro” introduces the genre of puppet opera and the textual influences commencing with the original Cervantes source.
Michal Grover-Friedlander’s essay “Transformations of the Killing of a Boy: Weill’s and Brecht’s Der Jasager” examines the various mutations of the libretto, originating from a Japanese tale, and outlines the transformations this story takes over time.
Ruth HaCohen’s “A...
