Table of Contents

Contents: List of Plates List of Tables List of Musical Examples Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction 1 An Anti-Anti-Opera 2 A Conception of Musico-Dramatic Form 3 Arias, ‘Leit-Characteristics’ and Expressive States 4 Allusion and Transformation 5 Stylistic Dissonance and the Collage 6 Resisting Closure: The Passacaglia Finale 7 From Electronic Music to Music Theatre 8 A Musical Grotesque Select Bibliography Index

About the Author

Peter Edwards is a post-doctoral research fellow in musicology at the University of Oslo. He leads a research project entitled ‘Style and Modernity’, funded by the Research Council of Norway. In 2012 Peter successfully defended his PhD thesis on György Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre; a critical examination of Ligeti’s creative process, the sketches for the opera, and the significance of the opera in the wider context of modern and postmodern aesthetics. He has also worked as a guitarist and composer and has received numerous commissions from leading ensembles and performers. Peter is a member of the editorial board of the Norwegian Journal of Musicology.

Reviews

"Readers seeking a wide-ranging introduction emphasising the opera’s music and dramatic character will find much useful information here" - Arnold Whittall, The Musical Times