Book Review
Jan. 21st, 2021 12:34 pmThe Cambridge Companion to Eighteenth-Century Opera
edited by Anthony R. DelDonna and Pierpaolo Polzonetti
This Cambridge Companion was more interesting than I expected it to be, largely because it eschewed laundry lists of composers and repertoire and focused instead on investigating the salient features of 18th century opera and the way the form manifested in the various regions of Europe and the Americas. In fact, the attention to the Spanish colonies was one of the aspects of the book I especially liked. I also appreciated the exploration of how different classes were portrayed musically in opera, and the theatrical side of opera production.
edited by Anthony R. DelDonna and Pierpaolo Polzonetti
This Cambridge Companion was more interesting than I expected it to be, largely because it eschewed laundry lists of composers and repertoire and focused instead on investigating the salient features of 18th century opera and the way the form manifested in the various regions of Europe and the Americas. In fact, the attention to the Spanish colonies was one of the aspects of the book I especially liked. I also appreciated the exploration of how different classes were portrayed musically in opera, and the theatrical side of opera production.