The Assoluta Voice in Opera, 1797-1847

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

It is unusual for styles in opera to carry over from one era into another. It would be even more unusual for one era’s characteristics to linger two generations into the next. Yet this is precisely what happened during the first half of the nineteenth century, when the intricacies of the fleet bel canto style were combined with the Romantic era’s heroic declamation and formidable orchestral emphasis resulting in the creation of the assoluta voice.This work traces the emergence of the impressive vocal writing that resulted from the marriage of the bel canto and Romantic eras. It also covers the uniquely versatile divas who were given the opportunities to make their mark on opera from the time of Cherubini to that of a young Verdi. Here, both the wide-ranging vocalism in the scores themselves and the artists capable of performing this style are referred to as assoluta. The chapters consider Luigi Cherubini’s
Medee , Gioacchino Rossini’s
Armida , Carl Maria von Weber’s
Oberon , Gaetano Donizetti’s
Anna Bolena , Vincenzo Bellini’s
Norma , Donizetti’s
Gemma di Vergy
and
Roberto Devereux , the time of transition in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and Giuseppe Verdi’s
Nabucco
and
Macbeth .