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Said on Opera
One of the late twentieth century’s most celebrated and influential public intellectuals, Edward W. Said was also a critic of astonishing range. This book presents his insightful and elegant analyses of four major operas―originally delivered as the Empson Lectures at Cambridge University in 1997―showcasing the power of Said’s critical acumen to unsettle canonical interpretations.
In close readings of Mozart’s Così fan tutte , Beethoven’s Fidelio , Berlioz’s Les Troyens , and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg , Said explores how each opera engages with the social and political questions of their own eras―and how they might speak to the present. He pays careful attention to the works’ historical context as well as the possibilities they open for contemporary reinterpretations, examining the tension between opera’s cultural prestige and its potential for subversion. Said considers the representation of national identity, class, and exoticism, and he shows how cultural and literary studies can enrich understandings of operatic texts and performance. Lucid and gracefully written, Said on Opera enlivens well-known works with fresh insights and demonstrates the breadth of Said’s contributions to cultural criticism.
This book features an introduction by the editor, Wouter Capitain, who situates these essays in the context of Said’s career, and a foreword by the acclaimed opera director Peter Sellars, who offers a masterful appreciation of Said’s achievements.
In close readings of Mozart’s Così fan tutte , Beethoven’s Fidelio , Berlioz’s Les Troyens , and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg , Said explores how each opera engages with the social and political questions of their own eras―and how they might speak to the present. He pays careful attention to the works’ historical context as well as the possibilities they open for contemporary reinterpretations, examining the tension between opera’s cultural prestige and its potential for subversion. Said considers the representation of national identity, class, and exoticism, and he shows how cultural and literary studies can enrich understandings of operatic texts and performance. Lucid and gracefully written, Said on Opera enlivens well-known works with fresh insights and demonstrates the breadth of Said’s contributions to cultural criticism.
This book features an introduction by the editor, Wouter Capitain, who situates these essays in the context of Said’s career, and a foreword by the acclaimed opera director Peter Sellars, who offers a masterful appreciation of Said’s achievements.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
160 pages, Paperback
First published February 13, 2024
About the author
Edward W. Said
212 books4,527 followers(Arabic Profile إدوارد سعيد)
Edward Wadie Said was a professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies. A Palestinian American born in Mandatory Palestine, he was a citizen of the United States by way of his father, a U.S. Army veteran.
Educated in the Western canon, at British and American schools, Said applied his education and bi-cultural perspective to illuminating the gaps of cultural and political understanding between the Western world and the Eastern world, especially about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East; his principal influences were Antonio Gramsci, Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, Michel Foucault, and Theodor Adorno.
As a cultural critic, Said is known for the book Orientalism (1978), a critique of the cultural representations that are the bases of Orientalism—how the Western world perceives the Orient. Said’s model of textual analysis transformed the academic discourse of researchers in literary theory, literary criticism, and Middle-Eastern studies—how academics examine, describe, and define the cultures being studied. As a foundational text, Orientalism was controversial among the scholars of Oriental Studies, philosophy, and literature.
As a public intellectual, Said was a controversial member of the Palestinian National Council, because he publicly criticized Israel and the Arab countries, especially the political and cultural policies of Muslim régimes who acted against the national interests of their peoples. Said advocated the establishment of a Palestinian state to ensure equal political and human rights for the Palestinians in Israel, including the right of return to the homeland. He defined his oppositional relation with the status quo as the remit of the public intellectual who has “to sift, to judge, to criticize, to choose, so that choice and agency return to the individual” man and woman.
In 1999, with his friend Daniel Barenboim, Said co-founded the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra, based in Seville, which comprises young Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab musicians. Besides being an academic, Said also was an accomplished pianist, and, with Barenboim, co-authored the book Parallels and Paradoxes: Explorations in Music and Society (2002), a compilation of their conversations about music. Edward Said died of leukemia on 25 September 2003.
Edward Wadie Said was a professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies. A Palestinian American born in Mandatory Palestine, he was a citizen of the United States by way of his father, a U.S. Army veteran.
Educated in the Western canon, at British and American schools, Said applied his education and bi-cultural perspective to illuminating the gaps of cultural and political understanding between the Western world and the Eastern world, especially about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East; his principal influences were Antonio Gramsci, Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, Michel Foucault, and Theodor Adorno.
As a cultural critic, Said is known for the book Orientalism (1978), a critique of the cultural representations that are the bases of Orientalism—how the Western world perceives the Orient. Said’s model of textual analysis transformed the academic discourse of researchers in literary theory, literary criticism, and Middle-Eastern studies—how academics examine, describe, and define the cultures being studied. As a foundational text, Orientalism was controversial among the scholars of Oriental Studies, philosophy, and literature.
As a public intellectual, Said was a controversial member of the Palestinian National Council, because he publicly criticized Israel and the Arab countries, especially the political and cultural policies of Muslim régimes who acted against the national interests of their peoples. Said advocated the establishment of a Palestinian state to ensure equal political and human rights for the Palestinians in Israel, including the right of return to the homeland. He defined his oppositional relation with the status quo as the remit of the public intellectual who has “to sift, to judge, to criticize, to choose, so that choice and agency return to the individual” man and woman.
In 1999, with his friend Daniel Barenboim, Said co-founded the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra, based in Seville, which comprises young Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab musicians. Besides being an academic, Said also was an accomplished pianist, and, with Barenboim, co-authored the book Parallels and Paradoxes: Explorations in Music and Society (2002), a compilation of their conversations about music. Edward Said died of leukemia on 25 September 2003.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 25, 2024
Said and I seem to have different taste in opera, or maybe mine has yet to mature? The operas discussed on Cosi fan Tutte - pretty much the only Mozart opera I can stomach from beginning to end, Fidelio - I dig the music but as "gesamt kunst" it's a bit dreary, Les Troyens - I need to listen to this more, and Die Meistersinger - I can only listen to Wagner overtures, choruses and instrumental bits, entire operas from him leave me shaking in rage. Said's takes on these operas were interesting but not big changes to my way of hearing them. Most of what was interesting is discussed and more clearly expressed in the introduction. This is a posthumous publication, I read a NetGalley, and I guess it's mainly Said's written versions of lectures he gave, so I'd like to think that if he hadn't gotten sick he might have tuned these up a bit and incorporated some lecture-audience feedback.
I'm surprised how easily he seems to take in stride the nationalistic elements in Les Troyens and Die Meistersinger and I think especially with the latter he is too keen to dismiss the antisemitic flavor of the villain, especially since the villainous cues are today applied to Arab or more generally Muslim characters in the popular culture of today. Also, I'm thinking, "What's Said's beef with Verdi?" I would have thought the anti-imperialist operas that got Verdi's career rolling would be exactly the kind of thing the author of "Culture and Imperialism" would enjoy analyzing. I'm guessing he thinks they're too on-the-nose, too sentimental and musically disjointed. He seems to like it when some musical tension goes through the whole opera and is resolved in the finale. He also seems to be someone who came to opera through Wagner and maybe that colors his whole thing. Me, I like it on-the-nose, sentimental and I associate abrupt changes in music with true school hip hop, in other words, not music for the shopping mall. But what the heck, I'm no expert.
"On Opera" is brief, fun and smart but not mind-blowing or anything. I would like to check out some of Said's earlier books about music now, and definitely give Les Troyens another chance. Those Cassandra arias are bangers.
I'm surprised how easily he seems to take in stride the nationalistic elements in Les Troyens and Die Meistersinger and I think especially with the latter he is too keen to dismiss the antisemitic flavor of the villain, especially since the villainous cues are today applied to Arab or more generally Muslim characters in the popular culture of today. Also, I'm thinking, "What's Said's beef with Verdi?" I would have thought the anti-imperialist operas that got Verdi's career rolling would be exactly the kind of thing the author of "Culture and Imperialism" would enjoy analyzing. I'm guessing he thinks they're too on-the-nose, too sentimental and musically disjointed. He seems to like it when some musical tension goes through the whole opera and is resolved in the finale. He also seems to be someone who came to opera through Wagner and maybe that colors his whole thing. Me, I like it on-the-nose, sentimental and I associate abrupt changes in music with true school hip hop, in other words, not music for the shopping mall. But what the heck, I'm no expert.
"On Opera" is brief, fun and smart but not mind-blowing or anything. I would like to check out some of Said's earlier books about music now, and definitely give Les Troyens another chance. Those Cassandra arias are bangers.
March 2, 2024
"Said on Opera" is an insightful analysis of four major operas presented by Edward W. Said, whose intellect and critical acumen have combined literary criticism, cultural analysis, and political engagement in a unique and influential way. Delivered initially as the Empson Lectures at Cambridge University in 1997, this collection, curated with a new introduction by Wouter Capitain and complemented by a masterful foreword from the acclaimed opera director Peter Sellars, marks a significant posthumous contribution to understanding opera in its multifaceted dimensions.
Edward Said, best known for his groundbreaking work "Orientalism," has been a pivotal figure in cultural studies, advocating for a nuanced understanding of the East-West dichotomy, and arguing that the West constructed a false and exoticized image of the Middle East, which served to legitimize its dominance over the region. Additionally, Said's forceful defense of secular humanism, and his advocacy of the Palestinian cause made him one of the most internationally influential cultural commentators of his time.
In "Said on Opera", he extends his critical horizon, by exploring the intersection of music, politics, history, and literature in four iconic operas: Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Beethoven’s Fidelio, Berlioz’s Les Troyens, and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
Said interrogates the operas' engagement with power structures, individual agency, national identity, and the complexities of human emotion and societal norms, thereby enriching our understanding of these compositions while also engaging with the social and political questions of their era. Furthermore, his analysis also “addresses the responsibility of reinterpreting historical works and highlights the interdependence between the arts, representation and their sociopolitical ramifications.”
Peter Sellars explains how Said questions the operas’ engagement with the dynamics of power that shape their contexts.
“In Così fan tutte, he considers the representation of individual agency and autonomy. In chapter two , he presents Fidelio as a fractured opera that reflects Beethoven’s struggle when trying to combine words and music together in a for-him exceptional non-instrumental work.In Les Troyens, the driving force is war as conquest against inferior other, thus giving this ancient story about the Trojan war a contemporary resonance within a nineteenth-century context of imperial expansion. Lastly, in chapter four, Said engages with debates about Vagner’s deeply problematic legacy and tries to extend the pre-Holocaust German nationalistic sentiment in Die Meistersinger to a more universal fear of the loss of tradition.” To today’s audience this presents no particularly aspect of public discourse since it seems to be there in every kind of nationalist and/or identity politics.
"Said on Opera" is a compelling read for opera enthusiasts, scholars, and students alike. It stands as a testament to Said's erudition and his ability to traverse disciplinary boundaries, offering a richly textured, nuanced appreciation of opera. Through Said's interpretive lens, the book not only enriches our understanding of the operas discussed but also invites readers to consider the broader societal, political, and cultural implications of the art form, thus reaffirming the enduring power and relevance of opera in contemporary discourse.
Edward Said, best known for his groundbreaking work "Orientalism," has been a pivotal figure in cultural studies, advocating for a nuanced understanding of the East-West dichotomy, and arguing that the West constructed a false and exoticized image of the Middle East, which served to legitimize its dominance over the region. Additionally, Said's forceful defense of secular humanism, and his advocacy of the Palestinian cause made him one of the most internationally influential cultural commentators of his time.
In "Said on Opera", he extends his critical horizon, by exploring the intersection of music, politics, history, and literature in four iconic operas: Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Beethoven’s Fidelio, Berlioz’s Les Troyens, and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
Said interrogates the operas' engagement with power structures, individual agency, national identity, and the complexities of human emotion and societal norms, thereby enriching our understanding of these compositions while also engaging with the social and political questions of their era. Furthermore, his analysis also “addresses the responsibility of reinterpreting historical works and highlights the interdependence between the arts, representation and their sociopolitical ramifications.”
Peter Sellars explains how Said questions the operas’ engagement with the dynamics of power that shape their contexts.
“In Così fan tutte, he considers the representation of individual agency and autonomy. In chapter two , he presents Fidelio as a fractured opera that reflects Beethoven’s struggle when trying to combine words and music together in a for-him exceptional non-instrumental work.In Les Troyens, the driving force is war as conquest against inferior other, thus giving this ancient story about the Trojan war a contemporary resonance within a nineteenth-century context of imperial expansion. Lastly, in chapter four, Said engages with debates about Vagner’s deeply problematic legacy and tries to extend the pre-Holocaust German nationalistic sentiment in Die Meistersinger to a more universal fear of the loss of tradition.” To today’s audience this presents no particularly aspect of public discourse since it seems to be there in every kind of nationalist and/or identity politics.
"Said on Opera" is a compelling read for opera enthusiasts, scholars, and students alike. It stands as a testament to Said's erudition and his ability to traverse disciplinary boundaries, offering a richly textured, nuanced appreciation of opera. Through Said's interpretive lens, the book not only enriches our understanding of the operas discussed but also invites readers to consider the broader societal, political, and cultural implications of the art form, thus reaffirming the enduring power and relevance of opera in contemporary discourse.
December 30, 2023
Thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for the eARC! All opinions expressed are my own.
About 1-2 years ago I became interested in opera so I was really excited for this work! This is published posthumously and Studies 4 different operas; Cosi fan tutte Les Troyens, Fidelio, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The essays were originally meant as lectures and are placed in a 1990s context, mainly focused on New York productions.
Because it’s published after Said’s death and before he was able to complete the manuscript it does obviously feel incomplete. Especially since there’s no conclusion that Said was able to write.
It’s also not what I was expecting as it’s very dry and academic, focusing on the musicology and performance (discussing the operas scene by scene) rather than how opera can/should evolve like what the synopsis seemed to suggest (“Said explores how each opera engages with the social and political questions of their own eras—and how they might speak to the present”).
I didn’t get much of that, instead getting an explanation of what each opera is about, but not how it was received during the time it would’ve been written and first performed. Or how present day adaptations can evolve to maintain the original message but relate to modern audiences (such as the 2022 production of the METs Lucia di Lammermoor set in 2010s Detroit during the opioid crisis).
I enjoyed the introduction and was excited for this book but the following chapters ended up disappointing me. I was often bored and couldn’t fully grasp what Said was talking about. The musicology (and a lot of the vocabulary) went over my head, as a casual opera goer. Definitely a book for academics and people with knowledge of the music/musicology field and not for readers with more of a hobbyist knowledge of opera, like myself.
I’d like to read more of Said’s works since many quote his works and he was a distinguished academic. But I’m a little scared now because a lot of his vocabulary was unfamiliar to me and I felt a little stupid 😅
About 1-2 years ago I became interested in opera so I was really excited for this work! This is published posthumously and Studies 4 different operas; Cosi fan tutte Les Troyens, Fidelio, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The essays were originally meant as lectures and are placed in a 1990s context, mainly focused on New York productions.
Because it’s published after Said’s death and before he was able to complete the manuscript it does obviously feel incomplete. Especially since there’s no conclusion that Said was able to write.
It’s also not what I was expecting as it’s very dry and academic, focusing on the musicology and performance (discussing the operas scene by scene) rather than how opera can/should evolve like what the synopsis seemed to suggest (“Said explores how each opera engages with the social and political questions of their own eras—and how they might speak to the present”).
I didn’t get much of that, instead getting an explanation of what each opera is about, but not how it was received during the time it would’ve been written and first performed. Or how present day adaptations can evolve to maintain the original message but relate to modern audiences (such as the 2022 production of the METs Lucia di Lammermoor set in 2010s Detroit during the opioid crisis).
I enjoyed the introduction and was excited for this book but the following chapters ended up disappointing me. I was often bored and couldn’t fully grasp what Said was talking about. The musicology (and a lot of the vocabulary) went over my head, as a casual opera goer. Definitely a book for academics and people with knowledge of the music/musicology field and not for readers with more of a hobbyist knowledge of opera, like myself.
I’d like to read more of Said’s works since many quote his works and he was a distinguished academic. But I’m a little scared now because a lot of his vocabulary was unfamiliar to me and I felt a little stupid 😅
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January 18, 2024Thank you to Colombia University Press and NetGalley for an eARC copy of Said on Opera by Edward Said, edited by Wouter Capitain.
While I agree with others that this particular book feels incomplete, it cannot be faulted due to the book being published after the death of Said. As a musician, opera is one of my favorite mediums of music (I thank Looney Toons for that), and was excited to read Said's essays on Cosi fan tutte Les Troyens, Fidelio, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg. All lectures from the 1990s that revolve around the Met Opera productions.
Because they were lectures, they are more dry and it would have been better if the book was just an audiobook of Edward Said speaking the lectures. In writing, it was hard to understand the specific points he was attempting to make and for those who do not know the operas, it didn't go into what they were about and that will make it hard for those who enjoy music, but don't know much about opera to understand.
While I agree with others that this particular book feels incomplete, it cannot be faulted due to the book being published after the death of Said. As a musician, opera is one of my favorite mediums of music (I thank Looney Toons for that), and was excited to read Said's essays on Cosi fan tutte Les Troyens, Fidelio, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg. All lectures from the 1990s that revolve around the Met Opera productions.
Because they were lectures, they are more dry and it would have been better if the book was just an audiobook of Edward Said speaking the lectures. In writing, it was hard to understand the specific points he was attempting to make and for those who do not know the operas, it didn't go into what they were about and that will make it hard for those who enjoy music, but don't know much about opera to understand.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews