Dissertation Abstracts in Music - 1

Hannu Juhani Salmi (hansalmi@utu.fi)
Thu, 25 Jan 1996 07:57:05 +0200 (EET)


Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 07:57:05 +0200 (EET)
From: Hannu Juhani Salmi <hansalmi@utu.fi>
To: h-verkko@sara.cc.utu.fi
Subject: Dissertation Abstracts in Music - 1

Hei h-verkkolaiset!

Jos musiikinhistoria kiinnostaa, osoitteesta http://www.rhbnc.ac.uk/Music/Archive/Disserts/ löytyy tuoreiden väitöskirjojen abstrakteja. Lähetän tässä muutamia esimerkkejä tuoreista väikkäreistä.

Terv. Hannu S.

>
> Stonehouse, Alison
>
> French Attitudes Towards Metastasio as Poet and Dramatist
> In the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century
>
> Ph.D. University of Western Ontario
> Anticipated Date of Completion: June 1996
> (dstoneho@uoguelph.ca)
>
> The immense popularity of the works of Pietro Metastasio throughout
> eighteenth-century Europe is well established, and stands in stark
> contrast to the situation in Paris, where only ten musical settings
> of his works -- all but one considerably adapted from the original
> texts -- were performed, and none was an outstanding success.
>
> The primary focus of the dissertation is three re-workings of
> Metastasio's Demofoonte, the Cherubini/Marmontel setting of 1788,
> the Vogel/Desriaux of 1789, and a hybrid, quasi-pantomime version
> which appeared in print anonymously in 1779. Comparison of the
> adapted French livrets with the Italian original shows the extent of
> the textual revisions as well as alterations in the overall
> structure of the opera,such as the insertion of ballets. Study of
> the scores shows the different ways in which the composers addressed
> the text, and evaluates reasons why the Cherubini setting was not
> successful (with only 9 performances), while the Vogel opera was
> performed 24 times, albeit over a period of 3 years.
>
> Despite the lack of musical success, there are clear indications
> that Metastasio was held by the French in high regard as an author.
> There exists a large number of adaptations and translations of his
> libretti and poetry; these were intended for both public and private
> enjoyment. More important evidence lies in the extensive commentary
> on his works by contemporary French writers and philosophers; this
> is obtained from both sides of the various Italian-French
> controversies. Without exception, these writers held Metastasio in
> high esteem. The dissertation attempts to explain the disparity
> between the highly favourable critical opinion of Metastasio as a
> poet and the generally luke-warm assessment of the
> Metastasio-derived operas.