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Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests : The Supernatural in Eighteenth-Century Musical Theater - David J. Buch

Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests

The Supernatural in Eighteenth-Century Musical Theater

By: David J. Buch

Hardcover | 20 January 2009 | Edition Number 1

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Drawing on hundreds of operas, singspiels, ballets, and plays with supernatural themes, Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests argues that the tension between fantasy and Enlightenment-era rationality shaped some of the most important works of eighteenth-century musical theater and profoundly influenced how audiences and critics responded to them.
David J. Buch reveals that despite--and perhaps even because of--their fundamental irrationality, fantastic and exotic themes acquired extraordinary force and popularity during the period, pervading theatrical works with music in the French, German, and Italian mainstream. Considering prominent compositions by Gluck, Rameau, and Haydn, as well as many seminal contributions by lesser-known artists, Buch locates the origins of these magical elements in such historical sources as ancient mythology, European fairy tales, the Arabian Nights, and the occult. He concludes with a brilliant excavation of the supernatural roots of Mozart's The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, building a new foundation for our understanding of the magical themes that proliferated in Mozart's wake.
Industry Reviews
"This book brings to the fore, for the first time, a significant aspect of eighteenth-century opera, providing a new means of understanding elements of the marvelous, the supernatural, and the magical that operate across genres and national boundaries. The reach of David Buch's investigation - over such a broad time span and including such vast repertories - is outstanding. Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests is an astonishing achievement." - Marita P. McClymonds, University of Virginia"

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