Wagner's Meistersinger and the tradition of comic opera

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dc.contributor.advisorHofmeyr, Hendriken_ZA
dc.contributor.authorKruger, Daviden_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-05-13T14:20:41Z
dc.date.available2015-05-13T14:20:41Z
dc.date.issued2010en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 175-186).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractWagner's avowed aim in his music-dramas was to create a new type of artwork that had little in common with conventional opera. However, in his only mature comic opera, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, he engages more extensively with the conventions of the genre. In order to determine the extent of this engagement, the dissertation looks firstly at the nature of comedy, and at comic theatre in Germany, as well as the development of a German type of comic opera in the years preceding Wagner's opera. This is followed by an examination of the conventions of comic opera in terms of subject matter, style and form and finally by an investigation of how these were applied in Meistersinger. While it is evident that he discards what is perhaps the most salient stylistic characteristic of comic opera, namely the use of closed song-like numbers with lively accompaniments based on simple rhythmic patterns, he adopts, adapts and re-invents many of the other conventions associated with the genre. This can be seen in his use of conventional aria types, traditional orchestral forms, ensembles, choruses and moral endings. Much of this marks a unique departure from the other works composed at this stage of his career and evinces his debt to the traditions of comic opera. The vocality of his protagonists owe much to the traditions of comic opera and the music is far more diatonic than in his other late works. Conventions of subject matter that he appropriates include characters derived from the commedia dell'arte, a plot involving two pairs of lovers facing various challenges, which are overcome through a certain amount of scheming and the agency of a higher and wiser authority. While set in remote history, the opera is far more realistic in tone than Wagner's other music-dramas, and the only one in which the supernatural does not figure prominently. Other comic elements include the use of burlesque, word-play, a degree of emotional detachment, the breaching of the "fourth wall", parody and satire.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationKruger, D. (2010). <i>Wagner's Meistersinger and the tradition of comic opera</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,College of Music. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12798en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationKruger, David. <i>"Wagner's Meistersinger and the tradition of comic opera."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,College of Music, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12798en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKruger, D. 2010. Wagner's Meistersinger and the tradition of comic opera. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Kruger, David AB - Wagner's avowed aim in his music-dramas was to create a new type of artwork that had little in common with conventional opera. However, in his only mature comic opera, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, he engages more extensively with the conventions of the genre. In order to determine the extent of this engagement, the dissertation looks firstly at the nature of comedy, and at comic theatre in Germany, as well as the development of a German type of comic opera in the years preceding Wagner's opera. This is followed by an examination of the conventions of comic opera in terms of subject matter, style and form and finally by an investigation of how these were applied in Meistersinger. While it is evident that he discards what is perhaps the most salient stylistic characteristic of comic opera, namely the use of closed song-like numbers with lively accompaniments based on simple rhythmic patterns, he adopts, adapts and re-invents many of the other conventions associated with the genre. This can be seen in his use of conventional aria types, traditional orchestral forms, ensembles, choruses and moral endings. Much of this marks a unique departure from the other works composed at this stage of his career and evinces his debt to the traditions of comic opera. The vocality of his protagonists owe much to the traditions of comic opera and the music is far more diatonic than in his other late works. Conventions of subject matter that he appropriates include characters derived from the commedia dell'arte, a plot involving two pairs of lovers facing various challenges, which are overcome through a certain amount of scheming and the agency of a higher and wiser authority. While set in remote history, the opera is far more realistic in tone than Wagner's other music-dramas, and the only one in which the supernatural does not figure prominently. Other comic elements include the use of burlesque, word-play, a degree of emotional detachment, the breaching of the "fourth wall", parody and satire. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - Wagner's Meistersinger and the tradition of comic opera TI - Wagner's Meistersinger and the tradition of comic opera UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12798 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/12798
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationKruger D. Wagner's Meistersinger and the tradition of comic opera. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,College of Music, 2010 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12798en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentCollege of Musicen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherMusicen_ZA
dc.titleWagner's Meistersinger and the tradition of comic operaen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMMusen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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