Blackness in opera
By: edited by Naomi Andre, Karen M. Bryan, and Eric Saylor
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Urbana
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 302
ISBN-13: 9780252036781; 9780252093890
Subjects: Opera; Blacks in opera
Description: "Blackness in Opera critically examines the intersections of race and music in the multifaceted genre of opera. A diverse cross-section of scholars places well-known operas (Porgy and Bess, Aida, Treemonisha) alongside lesser-known works such as Frederick Delius's Koanga, William Grant Still's Blue Steel, and Clarence Cameron White's Ouanga! to reveal a new historical context for re-imagining race and blackness in opera. The volume brings a wide-ranging, theoretically informed, interdisciplinary approach to questions about how blackness has been represented in these operas, issues surrounding characterization of blacks, interpretation of racialized roles by blacks and whites, controversies over race in the theatre and the use of blackface, and extensions of blackness along the spectrum from grand opera to musical theatre and film. In addition to essays by scholars, the book also features reflections by renowned American tenor George Shirley"--Publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: representing blackness on the operatic stage; title: From Otello to Porgy: blackness, masculinity, and morality in opera / Naomi André; title: Hearing the other in The masque of blackness / Sarah Schmalenberger; title: Nationalism, racial difference, and "Egyptian" meaning in Verdi's Aida / Christopher R. Gauthier and Jennifer McFarlane-Harris; title: Race, "realism," and fate in Frederick Delius's Koanga / Eric Saylor; title: Political currents and black culture in Scott Joplin's Treemonisha / Ann Sears; title: Clarence Cameron White's Ouanga! in the world of the Harlem Renaissance / Karen M. Bryan; title: New paradigms in William Grant Still's Blue steel / Gayle Murchison; title: Performers in Catfish Row: Porgy and Bess as collaboration / Gwynne Kuhner Brown; title: Searching for "authenticity" in Paul Bowles's Denmark Vesey / Melissa J. de Graaf; title: The politics of color in Oscar Hammerstein's Carmen Jones / Melinda Boyd; title: Performing race in Ernst Krenek's Jonny spielt auf / Jonathan O. Wipplinger; title: Il rodolfo nero, or the masque of blackness / George Shirley