Unfinished at Puccini's death in 1924, Turandot was not only his most ambitious work, but it became the last Italian opera to enter the international repertory. In this colorful study two renowned music scholars demonstrate that this work, despite the modern climate in which it was written, was a fitting finale for the centuries-old Great Tradition of Italian opera. Here they provide concrete instances of how a listener might encounter the dramatic and musical structures of Turandot in light of the Italian melodramma, and firmly establish Puccini's last work within the tradition of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi. In a summary of the sounds, sights, and symbolism of Turandot, the authors touch on earlier treatments of the subject, outline the conception, birth, and reception of the work, and analyze its coordinated dramatic and musical design. Showing how the evolution of the libretto documents Puccini's reversion to large musical forms typical of the Great Tradition in the late nineteenth century, they give particular attention to his use of contrasting Romantic, modernist, and two kinds of orientalist coloration in the general musical structure. They suggest that Puccini's inability to complete the opera resulted mainly from inadequate dramatic buildup for Turandot's last-minute change of heart combined with an overly successful treatment of the secondary character.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Puccini's final work, Turandot (1926), which was completed posthumously, is the last of the great Italian operas to enter the standard repertoire. Puccini had heard Stravinsky and Schoenberg by the 1920s, and he incorporated artistic trends of the day into his new opera. Ashbrook (humanities, Indiana State Univ.) and Powers (music, Princeton Univ.) examine the use of dissonance and exotic themes as well as Puccini's more melodic previous works in relation to the characters, with special emphasis on the two soprano-tenor duets. Turandot 's literary and musical roots, staging, and performance histories are investigated with convincing, richly detailed insights. Yet the many musical examples will be of little significance to readers not familiar with music scores and music theory. For collections supporting serious opera studies.
- James E. Ross, Seattle, Wash.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- James E. Ross, Seattle, Wash.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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This review is from: Puccini's Turandot : The End of the Great Tradition (Paperback)
The book begins with a philosophical discussion of different styles of opera--comedy, tragedy, melodrama, verismo. I was completely lost during that chapter.The bulk of the book goes over the opera with a fine-tooth comb. I thought I knew the opera well, but through much of this discussion, I could not understand which passage in the opera the author was referring to. He gives musical examples, but not often enough. The discussion on the last 59 pages of the opera is interesting, however. He points out which contributions were from Puccini and which were from Alfano. If you don't know every word and every note of the opera, be prepared to hold this book in one hand and a score of the opera in the other hand.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
ON THE FINAL page of William Weaver's The Golden Century of Italian Operaactually a decade or so more than a centuryappear the following words: as he reached the conclusion of Liu's death scene, Toscanini laid down his baton and said, in effect (he has been quoted variously): "The opera ends here, because at this point the Maestro died. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prince of Persia, Great Tradition, Middle Eastern, Golden Century, New York, Torre del Lago, Casa Ricordi, Guiding March, Princess Turandot, Italian Romantic, Manon Lescaut, Puccini's Turandot, Carlo Gozzi, Covent Garden, Madama Butterfly, Baron Fassini, Eva Turner, Franco Alfano, Giacomo Puccini, Andrea Della Corte, Ettore Panizza, Gozzi's Acts, Imperial Court, Library of Congress, Little Tradition New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
ON THE FINAL page of William Weaver's The Golden Century of Italian Operaactually a decade or so more than a centuryappear the following words: as he reached the conclusion of Liu's death scene, Toscanini laid down his baton and said, in effect (he has been quoted variously): "The opera ends here, because at this point the Maestro died. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prince of Persia, Great Tradition, Middle Eastern, Golden Century, New York, Torre del Lago, Casa Ricordi, Guiding March, Princess Turandot, Italian Romantic, Manon Lescaut, Puccini's Turandot, Carlo Gozzi, Covent Garden, Madama Butterfly, Baron Fassini, Eva Turner, Franco Alfano, Giacomo Puccini, Andrea Della Corte, Ettore Panizza, Gozzi's Acts, Imperial Court, Library of Congress, Little Tradition New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 30
books:
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12
books
cite this book:
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- Madama Butterfly in Full Score by Giacomo Puccini on 8 pages
- Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini on 7 pages
- The Metropolitan Opera by Irving Kolodin in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Signifier and the Signified: Studies in the Operas of Mozart and Verdi by Frits Noske in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Gianni Schicchi: Full Score by Giacomo Puccini on page 6, page 63, and Back Matter
See all 30 books this book cites
- Giacomo Puccini: A Guide to Research (Routledge Music Bibliographies) by Linda B. Fairtile on page 198, and page 288
- Musical Composition in the Twentieth Century by Arnold Whittall on page 72, and Back Matter
- Last Acts : The Operas of Puccini and his Italian Contemporaries by James Keolker on page 109, and Back Matter
- Siren Songs by Mary Ann Smart in Front Matter
- Mad Loves by Heather Hadlock in Front Matter
See all 12 books citing this book
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