| FA-52142-05 | Research Programs: Fellowships for University Teachers | Andreas Giger | Versification, Stanzaic Theory, and Melodic Aesthetics in Giuseppe Verdi's Operas | 7/1/2005 - 12/31/2005 | $24,000.00 | Andreas | | Giger | | | | Louisiana State University and A&M College | Baton Rouge | LA | 70803-0001 | USA | 2004 | Music History and Criticism | Fellowships for University Teachers | Research Programs | 24000 | 0 | 24000 | 0 |
This project explores the structural significance of the libretto for the stylistic and dramatic development of nineteenth-century French and Italian opera. Focusing on Verdi's French works, it will show that nineteenth-century rhythmic interpretations of French verse and stanza provide a key to the way in which composers brought their works in line with an increasingly prominent French melodic aesthetic. The selection of a specific rhythmic interpretation depended in part on a passage's dramatic function, suggesting a "rhetoric of prosody." These aspect of opera have so far been ignored, but they played a crucial role in the transition from Romantic opera to Verismo opera and reflect similar tendencies in other genres, especially the play. |