The Gilded Stage: The Social History of Opera

by Daniel Snowman

The Gilded Stage is a comprehensive tour of the world of opera. From its origins in the courts of northern Italy, to its internationally recognised position in modern culture, Snowman explores the social history of opera houses and impresarios, composers and patrons, artists and audiences. Even the most flamboyant composers could scarcely have imagined the global reach of opera in our own times. More opera is performed, financed, seen, heard, filmed and broadcast than ever before, and the world's leading performers are worshipped and paid like pop stars. Yet the art form is widely derided as 'elitist' and parts of the classical recording business appear close to bankruptcy. Pinpointing the scandals, forgotten history and key revolutions in the form with light erudition and a brilliant anecdotal eye, Daniel Snowman reveals that the world of opera has always known crisis and uncertainty - and the resulting struggles have often proved every bit as dramatic as those portrayed onstage.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, Art

496 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

Reviews

[Oz Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Éste es sin duda el libro sobre ópera más interesante que he leído, ya que como el mismo autor menciona desde el comienzo,no se trata de una extensa lista de obras,autores y sinopsis sino de como la ópera se ha desarrollado como un acontencimiento social. El modo en que está escrito es muy ameno y aún cuando maneja numerosos datos consigue ser ligero y no fatigar. Hay capítulos sumamente interesantes,como aquellos que se refiere a la ópera durante las Guerras Mundiales, las novedosas puestas en escena cubistas o surrealistas de los años 20-30's o uno sobre la ópera en la actualidad y el posible futuro de la misma. Si en verdad les gusta la ópera esto simplemente no tiene desperdicio!

[Jessica Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am writing a book about an opera singer, and read this book as part of my research. I never thought that a book about the "social history of opera" would be a page-turner, so I was very pleasantly surprised. The author brings history to life with his colorful and erudite descriptions of opera prima donnas, temperamental composers, and early performances in fire-prone opera houses. Not only was this book helpful and informative, but it was a pleasure to read as well.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro muy interesante y muy diferente a otros libros sobre ópera que he leído. En primer, resalta que el libro no está escrito a manera de "enciclopedia" con entradas específicas sobre óperas, compositores, cantantes, etc. En cambio, está estructurado a partir de capítulos temáticos que tratan de distintas épocas, lugares y sucesos en los que la ópera ha jugado un importante papel en la vida social, política, económica o cultural de un pueblo, un país o el mundo entero.

El libro está lleno de datos interesantísimos sobre teatros, compositores, cantantes, compañías operísticas, aficionados, promotores, etc., pero sobre todo encontré particularmente emocionante leer datos sobre la percepción que se tiene y ha tenido de la ópera a lo largo del tiempo. La verdad es que la ópera es una cuestión escabrosa, como lo dice el propio autor, porque es la forma de arte más compleja, insostenible económicamente, difícil de entender, exagerada, elitista, etc., etc., y, sin embargo, sigue aquí, sigue viva y sigue despertando enérgicas reacciones y debates en torno a los temas que trata, las formas en las que lo hace, y las personas que le dan vida hasta el día de hoy. Si la ópera sigue viva, es por algo, y ese "algo" podemos entenderlo mejor gracias a la lectura de este libro.

Finalmente, me gustó mucho el tratamiento que dio el autor de las prácticas modernas en la ópera, por ejemplo, la divergencia entre ejecuciones "históricamente informadas" y puestas en escena "conceptuales", "posmodernas" o de otra manera distintas (por decir lo menos) de aquellas cuando determinadas obras fueron estrenadas. La exploración de la idea del "canon" operístico también fue de mi particular agrado, así como las especulaciones sobre el futuro de la ópera en esta era de globalización y tecnología cambiante.

En conclusión, este libro es un verdadero deleite para los amantes de la ópera; sus más de 600 páginas, con letra pequeñita, no se sienten pesadas en ningún momento, y las ilustraciones que lo acompañan hacen más deleitable su lectura.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good, comprehensive look at the societies, economies, and customs that shaped opera and opera-going from the 17th century to the (almost) present day. Very readable and engaging, though I did speed ahead when I hit the 19th century and the operas I'm more drawn to. Perhaps not equally in depth across all areas, especially when moving into opera's increasingly global reach post-WWII, and definitely losing a star for neglecting to mention lesbian/bi women audiences and solely focusing on the gay male audiences (a scholarship gap addressed better by Alex Ross' Wagnerism).

My favourite takeaway was that opera has never once, in its history, ever made money (it's always been govt or royalty or just very rich person funded). And I think that's just fantastic. A thoroughly useless art for useless people like me (also, I support state funded art companies, the best use of state money).

[Elameno · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book if you're interested in such things.

It starts out stronger than it finishes (the second half feels like the editor stopped paying attention).

The author's enthusiasm for the subject matter comes through the writing. There're plenty of fun tidbits to pick up throughout the book. Definitely worth a look if you want to learn more about opera, but I wouldn't recommend it to a casual reader.

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting overview, although I definitely found certain sections more interesting than others! I particularly liked the earlier sections and the way this would zoom in on not just composers, but performers, conductors, etc.

[Robert Costic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whether you find this book interesting will depend, I think, on how much you knew about opera before you picked it up. The beginnings of opera from a kind of club of the aristocracy and its transformation into a middle class temple of art wasn't new to me. What was new - and tedious to me personally - was the blow by blow accounts of various opera houses - who founded them, who ran them, what they preformed when and where, when they had financial problems, and so on. It also tends to give pedestrian accounts of historical events and figures, frequently leaving out juicy details while frequently listing out when a person performed where, etc.

[Erik Barba Alejandre · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia de la ópera como un fenómeno social, un poco alejado del aspecto musical y la vida de los compositores, cantantes, libretistas y músicos, enfocándose en las personas que se encargaban del dinero, la promoción, los aspectos sociales, los movimientos revolucionarios en los que se llevaron a cabo los distintos cambios políticos y cómo afectaron a la ópera. Las guerras, los teatros, las tecnologías, los viajes, las crisis monetarias, los reyes, las cortes, los empresarios,etc. Un muy buen libro escrito para un lectura amena con muchas anécdotas curiosas.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book and full of fascinating facts about everything to do with five hundred years of opera other than the music - money, social status, money, rivalry, money, politics..... It is so full of detail that now that I have "read" it, I will have to go back and look at bits of it again more slowly, as I have already forgotten so much. It is a reference book but also one which tells good stories.

[Schopflin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable and full of entertaining detail. The only weakness in my opinion were the speculative ponderings at the end. Hard to do well and perhaps best omitted. Oh. Also. Big thick books like this when softbound are an utter pain to read - too heavy to take on the bus and hard to wrangle at home.

[Laura Koerber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have enjoyed more cultural and social history, but still his is a very readable and sometimes funny history. YOu don't have to like opera (I HATE opera). I read it out of curiosity because I like reading history, the history of just about anything

[Vyvyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, and accessible even for an absolute opera know-nothing like me. I think the focus on the social history helps with that.

[santiago carlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estuvo muy bien, aunque muchísimos datos que quizás no son relevantes.

[Sissi Chou]

Bel libro, si racconta proprio una storia 'sociale' del teatro: sociale vuol dire che è collegato con vari elementi: la politica, il gusto del pubblico, il manager e la gestione, ecc., oltre alla musica e il libretto se stessi...la parte sui drammi per musica del Seicento e Settecento è molto interessante.

[AskHistorians]

If you're only willing to read one book about opera, make it this one. Covers about everything you need to know, and focuses on opera as it was made and enjoyed by humans, no dull dry musicology and music theory here. Long but approachable!