Opera buffa in Mozart's Vienna - Mary Hunter

This collection of essays, presented by an internationally known team of scholars, explores the world of Vienna and the development of opera buffa in the second half of the eighteenth century. Although today Mozart remains one of the most well-known figures of the period, the era was filled with composers, librettists, writers and performers who created and developed opera buffa. Among the topics examined are the relationship of Viennese opera buffa to French theatre; Mozart and eighteenth-century comedy; gender, nature and bourgeois society on Mozart's buffa stage; as well as close analyses of key works such as Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro.

'… an enthralling collection of essays by a distinguished group of international scholars … will give any reader a deeper knowledge and understanding of Mozart's comic operas and of the genius who created them.' Scenaria

"Highly involved, with countless details , the book is a superb in-depth look into a fascinating period of music history.
Highly recommended...."
American Record Guide

"...a clear picture of the bifurcation of 18th-century opera...graduate students through faculty and the occasional ambitious undergraduate."
Choice

"Together, the essays in this volume, expertly written by all contributors, help to explain the lasting success of the Mozart/da Ponte collaborations..."
Henry Bloch, Journal of the Conductors Guild

"...a thoughtful critical evaluation of the various analytical and methodological approaches encountered in the book..."
E. Thomas Glasow, Opera Quarterly