Naples and the Emergence of the Tenor as Hero in Italian Serious Opera
Description:
The dwindling supply of castrati created a crisis in the opera world in the early 19th century. Castrati had dominated opera seria throughout the 18th century, but by the early 1800s their numbers were in decline. Impresarios and composers explored two voice types as substitutes for the castrato in male leading roles in serious operas: the contralto and the tenor. The study includes data from 242 serious operas that premiered in Italy between 1800 and 1840, noting the casting of the male leadin…
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Date:
May 2018
Creator:
Ekstrum, Dave
Partner:
UNT Libraries