Stephen C. Meyer details the intricate relationships between the operas                  Der Freischütz and Euryanthe, and contemporary discourse on both the ''Germany                  of the imagination'' and the new nation itself. In so doing, he presents                  excerpts from a wide range of philosophical, political, and musical writings, many                  of which are little known and otherwise unavailable in English. Individual chapters                  trace the multidimensional concept of German and ''foreign'' opera through                  the 19th century. Meyer's study of Der Freischütz places the work within the context                  of emerging German nationalism, and a chapter on Euryanthe addresses the opera's                  stylistic and topical shifts in light of changing cultural and aesthetic                  circumstances. As a result, Meyer argues that the search for a new German opera was                  not merely an aesthetic movement, but a political and social critique as                  well.

Carl Maria von Weber and the Search for a German Opera PDF

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