Handel and His Singers: The Creation of the Royal Academy Operas, 1720-1728

by C. Steven LaRue

Overview

From the early eighteenth-century until the present day, opera seria as practiced by Handel and his contemporaries has been the subject of satire and even derision for its dramatic artifice and virtuosic vocal displays. Close examination of Handel's autograph manuscripts, the libretti upon which they were based, and other contemporary documents reveal the extent to which Handel was influenced by his singers and their abilities in creating his commercially successful and dramatically effective operas. Drawing on ideas and evidence from these sources, this study demonstrates the fact that Handel's singers were the single most important influence in his opera composition during his tenure as composer and music director of the Royal Academy of Music from 1719-28.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198163152
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/10/1995
Series:	Oxford Monographs on Music
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	9.32(w) x 6.24(h) x 0.79(d)
Lexile:	1670L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

	List of Figures	x
	List of Tables	xi
	List of Music Examples	xii
	Abbreviations	xiv
1.	Cast, Librettist, Composer	1
2.	A General Description of the Sources	8
3.	Francesco Borosini and the Two First Versions of Tamerlano (1724)	17
4.	Margherita Durastanti as Leading Man and Leading Woman	80
5.	Senesino and the Heroic-Anti-Heroic Male Role	105
6.	The Singer as Specific Character Type	125
7.	Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni: The Rival Queens	144
8.	Conclusion	182
Appendix 1.	Synopsis of Piovene's Tamerlano (1710)	191
Appendix 2.	Comparison of Piovene, Tamerlano (1710) with Haym, Tamerlano (23 July 1724)	195
Appendix 3.	Projected and Actual Casts for the First Season of the Royal Academy of Music, 1720-1721	203
	Bibliography	205
	Index	211

Editorial Reviews

"[The author's] detailed technical arguments are entirely convincing."—The Albion

"Scholarship at its mystery-solving best."—Choice

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