Unsettling Opera

Staging Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, and Zemlinsky

Levin David J.

What happens when operas that are comfortably ensconced in the canon are thoroughly rethought and radically recast on stage? What does a staging do to our understanding of an opera, and of opera generally? While a stage production can disrupt a work that was thought to be established, David J. Levin here argues that the genre of opera is itself unsettled, and that the performance of operas, at its best, clarifies this condition by bringing opera's restlessness and volatility to life.

"Unsettling Opera" explores a variety of fields, considering questions of operatic textuality, dramaturgical practice, and performance theory. Levin opens with a brief history of opera production, opera studies, and dramatic composition, and goes on to consider in detail various productions of the works of Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, and Alexander Zemlinsky. Ultimately, the book seeks to initiate a dialogue between scholars of music, literature, and performance by addressing questions raised in each field in a manner that influences them all.

About the Author

David J. Levin is associate professor in the Department of Germanic Studies, the Committee on Cinema and Media Studies, and the Committee on Theater and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago. In addition to his academic work, he has served as dramaturg for various opera companies in the United States and Germany.

Reviews

"Levin is one of the few scholars who functions effectively as both a literary critic in the university and a practical dramaturg in the opera house. His fascinating book demonstrates how critical readings of music and text can generate stagings that challenge and compel... An indispensable guide" – Philip Gossett

"Intelligent and lucidly written, Unsettling Opera opens up new and exciting vistas for thinking and writing about opera.... A book that is sure to become required reading for all those interested in the study – and performance – of opera" – German Studies Review

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