Music and Women of the Commedia dell'Arte in the Late Sixteenth Century [Hardcover]

MacNeil narrates the story of the most famous commedia dell'arte troupe of the late Renaissance, focusing in particular on the representation of women on stage and on the role of music-making in their craft. She provides a rich context for the study of musical-theatrical performance before the advent of opera and re-defines our perceptions of women, music and theatre in the Renaissance.

Preface
1. Prologue
2. Turn About is Fair Play
3. Behold, Now there are Amazons of Learning
4. The Politics of Description
5. Epilogue
Library Sigla
Chronology
Transcriptions
Bibliography
Index

Makes an important contribution to our understanding of musical theatre, genre, at the northern Italian courts just before and during opera's gestational period.... There is much fascinating material that adds considerably to our understanding of the professional theatrical woman in the late 16th century.... scholars, performers and early music enthusiasts interested in understanding both branches of Italian musical theatre--the 'air, light and juices' that fed both opera andcommedia dell'arte-- will find this a fascinating and challenging book to read. --Early Music

Anne MacNeil weaves...diverse topics together in ways that reveal a wealth of connections that often contradict superficial appearances. She does not gloss over contradictory evidence, but highlights the complexity of the questions raised by her work. The book is an important contribution to all of the fields of the study that it involves. ... The book is a significant contribution to the history of Italian music and theatre and their relationships to culture and politics in the period around 1600. By successfully integrating numerous fields of study, it enriches our understanding of all of them. --Music and Letters

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