| Zarzuela: Spanish Operetta, American Stage Contributor(s): Sturman, Janet L. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0252025962 ISBN-13: 9780252025969 Publisher: University of Illinois Press OUR PRICE: $32.67 Product Type: Hardcover Published: September 2000 Annotation: Once the most popular form of Spanish entertainment short of the bullfight, the zarzuela boasts a long history of bridging the categories of classical and popular art. It is neither opera nor serious drama, yet it requires both trained singers and good actors. The content is neither purely folkloric nor high art; it is too popular for some and too classical for others. In Zarzuela, Janet L. Sturman assesses the political as well as the musical significance of this chameleon of music-drama. Sturman traces the zarzuela's colorful history from its seventeenth-century origins as a Spanish court entertainment to its adaptation in Spain's colonial outposts in the New World. She examines Cuba's pivotal role in transmitting the zarzuela to Latin America and the Caribbean and draws distinctions among the ways in which various Spanish-speaking communities have reformulated zarzuela, combining elements of the Spanish model with local characters, music, dances, and political perspectives. The settings Sturman considers include Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. cities of El Paso, Miami, Chicago, New York, and Napa, California. Sturman also demonstrates how the zarzuela plays a role in defining American urban ethnicity. She offers a glimpse into two longstanding theaters in New York, Repertorio Espanol and the Thalia Spanish Theatre, that have fostered the tradition of zarzuela, mounting innovative productions and cultivating audiences. Sturman constructs a profile of the audience that supports modern zarzuela and examines the extensive personal network that sustains it financially. Just as the zarzuela afforded an opportunity in the past for Spaniards to assert their individualityin the face of domination by Italian and central European musical standards, it continues to stand for a distinctive Hispanic legacy. Zarzuela provides a major advance in recognizing the enduring cultural and social significance of this resilient and adaptable genre. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Music | Genres & Styles - Opera |
| Dewey: 782.12 |
| LCCN: 00008032 |
| Series: Music in American Life (Hardcover) |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6.29" W x 9.33" (1.20 lbs) 256 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Once a wildly popular form of Spanish entertainment, the zarzuela boasts a long history of bridging classical and popular art. Yet its contradictions make it a theatrical chameleon. Neither opera nor serious drama, the staging still requires trained singers and good actors. Neither purely folkloric nor high art, the music is too popular for some and too classical for others. Janet L. Sturman traces the zarzuela's colorful history from its origins as a Spanish court entertainment to Cuba's pivotal role in transmitting it to Latin America and the Caribbean. Ranging from Argentina, Mexico, and Puerto Rico to El Paso, Miami, and New York, Sturman draws distinctions among the ways various Spanish-speaking communities have reformulated zarzuela by combining the traditional model with local characters, music, dances, and politics. She also explores two theaters in New York, Repertorio Español and the Thalia Spanish Theatre, that have fostered the zarzuela by mounting innovative productions that cultivate both audiences and a network of donors. Vivid and revealing, Zarzuela recognizes the enduring cultural and social relevance of a genre at once resilient, adaptable, and temptingly elusive. |