Feasting and fasting in opera from Renaissance banquets to the Callas diet / Pierpaolo Polzonetti.
| Author/creator | Polzonetti, Pierpaolo |
| Format | Electronic |
| Publication Info | Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2021. |
| Description | xv, 319 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Supplemental Content | Full text available from eBooks on EBSCOhost |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Convivial beginnings. The symposium and the birth of opera ; The Renaissance banquet as multimedia art ; Orpheus at the cardinal's table ; Eating at the opera house -- "Tastes funny" : tragic and comic meals from Monteverdi to Mozart ; Comedy as embodiment in Monteverdi and Mozart ; The insatiable : tyrants and libertines ; Indulging in comic opera : gastronomy as identity -- The effects of feasting and fasting ; Coffee and chocolate from Bach to Puccini ; Verdi and the laws of gastromusicology ; The Callas diet. |
| Abstract | "In this book, opera scholar Pierpaolo Polzonetti shows that the consumption of food and drink is a meaningful, essential component of opera, both on and off the stage. The book explores how convivial culture shaped the birth of opera and its development, especially through the early nineteenth century, when eating at the opera house was still common. Through analyses of convivial scenes in operas from Monteverdi to Verdi and Puccini, the book then shows how food/drink consumption and sharing, or refusal to do so, define the characters' identity and relationships. The first part of the book moves chronologically from around 1480 to the middle of the nineteenth century, when Wagner's operatic reforms put a stop to conviviality at the opera house by banishing refreshments during the performance and mandating a darkened auditorium and absorbed listening. The second part instead focuses on questions of comedy, embodiment, and indulgence in both tragic and comic operas from Monteverdi to Mozart. In the third part, Polzonetti looks at opera characters, their onstage consumption of coffee and chocolate, and what it signifies for their social standing within the opera. The book ends with an illuminating and entertaining discussion of the diet Maria Callas underwent in preparation for her famous performance as Violetta in Verdi's La traviata. Neither food lovers nor opera lovers will want to miss Polzonetti's page-turning and imaginative book"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| LCCN | 2021005729 |
| ISBN | 9780226804958 (cloth) |
| ISBN | (ebook) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Resources | Access Content Online | ✔ Available |