Aesthetics of Opera in the Ancien Regime, 1647 1785

by Downing A. Thomas

Book Overview

This is the first study to recognize the wider picture of opera within early-modern French culture. Downing Thomas considers the place of music within a cultural environment--the employment of music by Louis XIV as a symbol of absolutism; the use of music as a statement against the monarchy; and the long-term development of opera as a reflection of humanism. Thomas examines key works by Lully, Rameau, and Charpentier, among others, and extends his reach from the late seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521100976
• ISBN13: 9780521100977
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 420 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"