The Musical World of Marie-Antoinette

Opera and Ballet in 18th Century Paris and Versailles
Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4766-8436-9
Verlag: McFarland

Buch, Englisch, 241 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 178 mm x 254 mm, Gewicht: 511 g

For decades, 18th century Paris had been declining into a baroque backwater. Spectacles at the opera, once considered fit for a king, had become "hell for the ears," wrote playwright Carlos Goldoni. Then, in 1774, with the crowning of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, Paris became one of the world's most vibrant musical centers.

Austrian composer Christophe-Willibald Gluck, protege of the queen, introduced a new kind of tragic opera--dramatic, human and closer to nature. The expressive pantomime known as ballet d'action, forerunner of the modern ballet, replaced stately court dancing. Along the boulevards, people whistled lighter tunes from the Italian opera, where the queen's favorite composer, Andre Modeste Gretry, ruled supreme. This book recounts Gluck's remaking of the grand operatic tragedy--long symbolic of absolute monarchy--and the vehement quarrels between those who embraced reform and those who preferred familiar baroque tunes or the sweeter melodies of Italy. The turmoil was an important element in the ferment that led to the French Revolution and the beheading of the queen.

Autoren/Hrsg.

James, Barrington

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Tanz
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Opernmusik

Über Autor(innen)

Barrington James has been a reporter, editor and foreign correspondent for several major news organizations, including the New York Herald Tribune, United Press International, and the International Herald Tribune in Paris. He lives in Sèvres, France.