The early 19th century was a period of acute transition in operatic tradition and style, when time-honored practices gave way to the developing aesthetics of Romanticism, the rise of the tenor overtook the falling stars of the castrati, and the heroic, the masculine, and the feminine were profoundly reconfigured. These transformations resounded in operatic plot structures as well; the happy resolution of the 18th century twisted into a tragic 19th-century finale with the death of the helpless and innocent heroine—and frequently her tenor hero along with her. Female voices which formerly had sung en travesti, or basically in male drag, opposite their female character counterparts then took on roles of the second woman, a companion and foil to the death-bound heroine rather than her romantic partner. In Voicing Gender, Naomi André skillfully traces the development of female characters in these first decades of the century, weaving in and around these changes in voicings and plot lines, to define an emergent legacy in operatic roles.
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"In presenting the concept of 'the period ear' as a way for today's audiences to 'hear' the voices of the primo ottocento, André... offers a solution to the problematic study of historical performance. The author differentiates between the various onstage female types and traces 'how a woman's voice represent[ed] both male and female characters' during the time that opera diverged from supreme castrati reign and moved toward the era of the Romantic heroine.... Recommended." —Choice
(Choice 2007)In presenting the concept of the period ear as a way for today's audiences to hear the voices of the primo ottocento, André (Andre) (Univ. of Michigan) offers a solution to the problematic study of historical performance. The author differentiates between the various onstage female types and traces how a woman's voice represent[ed] both male and female characters during the time that opera diverged from supreme castrati reign and moved toward the era of the Romantic heroine. The opening chapters illustrate the prevailing fashion for castrati versus travesti (males in drag) early in the century, with some reference to more familiar pants role territory and a close study of how opera characters hear female voices onstage and how they respond musically, textually, and dramatically. A short interlude adopts the Bakhtinian hybrid as a model for understanding the 19th—century audience's approach to hearing gender. The first hint of self—confessed diva worship also appears here, in the form and voice of Maria Malibran. This widens in the final chapter to an in—depth study of soprano Giuditta Pasta, specifically of the title roles she created in Medea in Corinto, Norma, and Anna Bolena. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, and faculty.V. Vaughan, formerly, Oberlin College, Choice, February 2007
(V. Vaughan, formerly, Oberlin College Choice 2009)"André's study provides an exciting new perspective on the Romantic heroine's relationship to her operatic ancestors. Unwilling to cast a diva as devoid of agency and a mere product of growing misogyny among composers and librettists, André weaves a fresh historical narrative that makes sense of women's role as interpreter of primo ottocento opera.... As Irigaray might implore, Open your ears—don't open them simply." —STEPHANIE JENSEN-Moulton, Women & Music, Vol. 13 2009
(STEPHANIE JENSEN-Moulton Women & Music )About the Author
Naomi André is Associate Professor in the School of Music at the University of Michigan.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome addition to the literature,
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This review is from: Voicing Gender: Castrati, Travesti, and the Second Woman in Early-Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera (Musical Meaning and Interpretation) (Paperback)
Voicing Gender is a beautifully written and meticulously researched addition to the growing body of scholarship on women in opera. Naomi Andre has made much-needed, insightful connections between castrati, travesti, and women's characters -- these insights are firmly grounded in opera of the nineteenth century but resonate throughout opera of the twentieth century as well. This book is strongly recommended for Women in Music, Opera, and Gender and Performance studies. A thoroughly enjoyable and fascinating read.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good book for my research,
By booklover "Julie" (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Voicing Gender: Castrati, Travesti, and the Second Woman in Early-Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera (Musical Meaning and Interpretation) (Paperback)
This book is well written and was very helpful in my research for an independent study that I am doing for college credit. The writing style was interesting and held my attention.
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heroic travesti roles, travesti singers, heroic travesti tradition, flexible treble timbres, ottocento stage, travesti hero, primo ottocento opera, giovinetto cavalier, castrati voices, soprano heroine, castrato voice, tenor hero, bel canto tradition, period ear, hybrid voice, entrance aria, act duet, bel canto singing, bravura style, vocal type, donna del lago, heroic voice, leading female characters, heroic tenor Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Voicing Gender, Anna Bolena, Giuditta Pasta, Knight of Rhodes, Haunting Legacies, The Houghton Library, San Carlo, Théâtre Italien, The Harvard Theatre Collection, Knights of Rhodes, Meyerbeer's Italian, Mayr's Medea, Maria Malibran, Sounding Voices, Felice Romani, Giulia Grisi, Grand Master, Bellini's Norma, Gaetano Rossi, Giambattista Velluti, Anne Boleyn, Isabella Colbran, Carolina Bassi, Teatro Carcano, Donizetti's Rosmonda Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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