Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

F. W. Sternfeld examines the role of poets and composers in establishing the new genre of opera in northern Italy around 1600. He discusses the problems of sung drama, particularly the required happy ending and its foil, the lament, and highlights the enduring appeal, from Poliziano through to Monteverdi, to Stravinsky, of the story of Orpheus the divine singer.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. vii)
• List of Abbreviations (p. xiv)
• 1 (p. 1)
• 2 Definitions and Non-Definitions (p. 31)
• 3 The Problem of the Finale and Poliziano's Solution (p. 48)
• 4 The Finale in the Sixteenth Century (p. 65)
• 5 The Operatic Finale (p. 99)
• 6 The Lament (p. 140)
• 7 Repetition and Echo in Poetry and Music (p. 197)
• Bibliography (p. 227)
• Index of Subjects (p. 255)
• Index of Names, Titles, and First Lines (p. 259)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The product of long study and assimilation of multidisciplinary sources and the best modern scholarship, this book is less a straightforward account of opera's origins than a discussion of certain practices whose recurrences demonstrate the continuity in dramatic music production from c. 1480 to the early 17th century. These practices--the finale, the lament, and repetition or echo--provide a fascinating way to approach the importance of convention to early opera. Sternfeld (Oxford Univ., emeritus) first sets out the classical origins of many 16th-century dramatic devices, emphasizing the importance of Ovid in providing plots, characters, and practices for musico-dramatic spectacles of the High Renaissance. Though most of the remainder of the book deals with the 16th century, Sternfeld's tendency to digress from this central period sometimes weakens his narrative. His discussions of the reappearances of his chosen practices in operas written after the mid-17th century would have been better left to a separate, final chapter. This well-researched and thoroughly documented study is not for beginners, but scholars having a basic knowledge of opera's origins will find it to be one of those special studies that offers genuine enlightenment. Senior honors undergraduate; graduate; faculty. K. Pendle; University of Cincinnati

Author notes provided by Syndetics

The late F.W. Sternfeld was a Reader in the History of Music, University of Oxford.