Loading...
The feminine on display: Puccini’s othering of the lower-class woman
Moore, Allison
Moore, Allison
Citations
Altmetric:
Soloist
Composer
Publisher
Date
2023-05-04
Additional date(s)
Abstract
This thesis surveys Giacomo Puccini’s operas, contextualized with coverage of the social and political climates of Italy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as an examination of Puccini’s life and his relationships. His weaving of fin-de-siècle aesthetics with verismic elements emerging in Italian literature and opera created his famous heroines that earned him fame and notoriety. These heroines are categorized as either Madonna or whore based on their behavior and their interactions with their heroes. Typically these determinants are their chastity, or lack thereof, their fidelity, and their willingness to sacrifice themselves. These heroines are also othered in both libretti and scores through physical isolation, musical isolation, and class connotations. Through analysis of six of Puccini’s operas, this thesis highlights the ways in which Puccini uses verismo and fin-de-siècle aesthetics to portray lower-class women as Others on the operatic stage.
Contents
Subject
Music history
Subject(s)
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Genre
Thesis
Description
Format
Department
Music