Carl Maria von Weber and the Search for a German Opera [Hardcover]

Stephen C. Meyer details the intricate relationships between the operas Der Freisch?tz and Euryanthe, and contemporary discourse on both the Germany of the imagination and the new nation itself. In so doing, he presents excerpts from a wide range of philosophical, political, and musical writings, many of which are little known and otherwise unavailable in English. Individual chapters trace the multidimensional concept of German and foreign opera through the 19th century. Meyer's study of Der Freisch?tz places the work within the context of emerging German nationalism, and a chapter on Euryanthe addresses the opera's stylistic and topical shifts in light of changing cultural and aesthetic circumstances. As a result, Meyer argues that the search for a new German opera was not merely an aesthetic movement, but a political and social critique as well.

Considers two operas by Weber within the aesthetic context of contemporary music criticism and the broader context of German nationalism.

Stephen C. Meyer has published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Opera Quarterly, and Cambridge Opera Journal. In addition to his scholarly work, he maintains an active career as a singer.

German national, political, social, and musical spirit grew aggressively in the late18th and early, 19th centuries, contesting Italian domination of opera. Because the singspiel, with its folk origins, could not serve as equal competitor with either Italian opera buffa or opera seria, German composers searched for formulas that might yield a viable national opera. Weber's Der Freisch?tz (Freischutz) provided impetus. Euryanthe was a further step in the reconfiguration and transformation of German opera. Meyer details the nature of the conflict that led to new institutions, aesthetics, and opera genre after Weber's death and the compromises that eventually produced the German romantic opera. Thoroughly researched, copiously footnoted, and including an extel=