Emblems of eloquence : opera and women's voices in seventeenth-century Venice / Wendy Heller.

Author/creator Heller, Wendy, 1955-
Format Book
Publication InfoBerkeley : University of California Press, ©2003.
Descriptionxix, 386 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Subjects
Opera--17th century. --Italy. --Venice.
Women in opera.

Contents The emblematic woman -- Bizzarrie femminile: opera and the Accademia degli incogniti -- Didone and the voice of chastity -- "Disprezzata regina": woman and empire -- The nymph Calisto and the myth of female pleasure -- Semiramide and the conventions of musical transvestism -- Messalina la meretrice: envoicing the courtesan.
Abstract Opera developed during a time when the position of women--evident in their rights and freedoms, in their perceived virtues and vices, and even in how their sexuality was viewed--was under constant debate. Many of these controversies manifested themselves in the representation of the historical and mythological women whose voices were heard on the Venetian operatic stage. Drawing upon a complex web of early modern sources and ancient texts, this study is the first comprehensive treatment of women, gender, and sexuality in seventeenth-century opera. Wendy Heller explores the operatic manifestations of female chastity, power, transvestism, androgyny, and desire, showing how the emerging genre was shaped by and infused with the Republic's taste for the erotic and its ambivalent attitudes toward women and sexuality.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 353-369) and index.
LanguageMainly in English; with some Italian, and parallel texts in Italian with English translations.
LCCN 2003001853
ISBN0520209338 (alk. paper)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Music Stacks ML2100 .H45 2003 ✔ Available Place Hold