Overview

New Dramaturgies of Contemporary Opera is the first and only book that approaches the dramaturgy of contemporary opera from the unique perspectives of living practitioners (composers, librettists, directors, producers, singers, dramaturgs, and administrators) who provide valuable first-hand insight into the coming into being of an opera today. The edited collection captures the ethos of contemporary opera-making in the global context and serves as a timely intervention in addressing the array of heterogenous dramaturgical practices that go into making an opera today in an era of flux. The collection is split into four parts: Part I presents the new dramaturgical considerations that the field is currently exploring; Part II investigates the ways in which non-Western cultures and perspectives can and have been represented; Part III explores the roles of space, nature, and environment in contemporary opera; and finally, Part IV looks at the ways in which technology has intersected with the creation of contemporary opera. With perspectives from practitioners throughout, this collection is essential reading for advanced students, researchers, and scholars of contemporary opera, as well as practicing dramaturgs in this field.

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9781032611570

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Reviews

Opera is a living art that has undergone constant transformation over the course of over four centuries of history. Those transformations encompass shifts in modes of composition, adaptation, staging, performance, and patronage that have been well documented by music historians. Far less attention, however, has been paid to the emergent practices that are revitalizing the operatic stage today, particularly from the standpoint of practitioners. New Dramaturgies of Contemporary Opera brilliantly steps into the breach by bringing together some of the world’s most innovative librettists, composers, directors, producers, and dramaturgs to reflect critically and creatively on their work. Jeffrey Schnapp, founder and director, metaLAB (at) Harvard As opera ponders new forms of address and explores non-traditional venues it also becomes a borderland between performers and their audiences but also a meeting place for the ever more porous areas of theory and practice. New Dramaturgies of Contemporary Opera chronicles this rapprochement all the while redefining contemporary opera as a cross-cultural genre. Giorgio Biancorosso, editor of Sound Stage Screen

Author Information

Jingyi Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate in musicology at Harvard University. As a music and cultural historian, her research interests center on themes of racial identity, mobility, media technology, and decolonial thinking in 19th to 21st century songs, opera, and theater.

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