Literaturoper information

Literaturoper (literature opera, plural “Literaturopern”), a term coined by the German music critic Edgar Istel, describes a genre of opera that emerged during the late 19th century. When an existing play for the legitimate theatre is set to music without major changes and without the intervention of a librettist, a “Literaturoper” is the result. Although the term is German, it can be applied to any kind of opera, irrespective of style or language. (In that sense it can be regarded as a term rather than a genre as such.)

The former, much broader usage of the term “Literaturoper” for opera libretti on the basis of dramas, novels and short stories of undoubted literary renown, which was still common until around 1980, has been made obsolete by recent research on the history of the opera libretto. Since opera libretti have relied on subject matter from the history of literature since the very origin of the genre of opera, a broader usage of the term would cover the entire history of opera, regardless of the underlying libretto structure.^[1]

^ Albert Gier: Das Libretto. Theorie und Geschichte einer musikoliterarischen Gattung. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1998, ISBN 3-534-12368-9. (Second edition: Insel, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-458-34366-0)

[1] Albert Gier: Das Libretto. Theorie und Geschichte einer musikoliterarischen Gattung. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1998, ISBN 3-534-12368-9. (Second edition: Insel, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-458-34366-0)

Literaturoper information

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List of compositions by Alban Berg

Alban Berg

Opera

Glagolitic Mass

Der Protagonist

On an Overgrown Path

Opera buffa

List of operas by title

Outline of opera

Der Wein

List of prominent operas

The Cunning Little Vixen

Operetta

Opera glasses

List of opera houses

Italian opera

List of opera genres