Opera as Drama

by Joseph Kerman

"Throughout the history of opera, if not quite continuously, there have been some who have taken opera's dramatic potential seriously and others who have not. It seems to be the case that over the last thirty years Opera as Drama has helped keep the serious position alive. I hope it will continue to do so in this new edition." From the foreword to the new edition Passionate, witty, brilliant, Opera as Drama, although published over thirty years ago, remains one of the most controversial, thought-provoking, and entertaining works of operatic criticism ever written. For this new edition, the first since the book's original publication, the author has prepared a new foreword and provided emations and additions that take into account some of the critical reaction to the book. He has also added a new chapter on operatic criticism. Updated yet still retaining the verve of the original, this new edition will be indispensable reading for all students and lovers of opera.

Author Biography: Joseph Kerman, Professor of Music at the University of California, Berkeley, has held the Jerry and Evelyn Hemmings Chambers Chair of Music, and is the author of The Beethoven Quartets and Contemplating Music, among many other books.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

269 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 28, 1956

About the author

Joseph Wilfred Kerman -- born Zukerman -- (1924 - 2014) was an American critic and musicologist. One of the leading musicologists of his generation, his 1985 book Contemplating Music: Challenges to Musicology (published in the UK as Musicology) was described by Philip Brett in The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as "a defining moment in the field." He was Professor Emeritus of Musicology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews

[Daniel Woodward · Rating 1 out of 5]

He should have been honest and titled this book "Tosca is Trash." Mr. Kerman thinks Tosca is in extremely poor taste, therefore no opera written by Puccini is worth anything. Most other Italian operas are also trash, except for La Traviata and Otello by Verdi, and Orfeo by Monteverdi. The part of this book I liked the best was after Kerman dismissed the entire genre of Opera seria as stodgy, artificial and clumsy, he actually admits that he cannot truly judge because he has not seen enough of it. (This book is from the 1950s, long before the resurrection of Baroque opera we have seen in recent years.)
This book is full of intellectual snobbery posing as "correct" opinion. Opera is much more varied and lively than Mr. Kerman wants it to be. I find him a rather sad fellow.

[Jim Marrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did for opera what Gombrich's work did for visual art: helped me understand the art form as a form, and the languages composers use to construct it. As with any art form, only a handful of examples will approach anything like the ideal: everything in its place, serving a purpose, contributing to the greater whole, resulting in something at once meaningful and also beautiful. And as the author's examples show, even the greatest composers have only one or two operas that approach such an ideal. This book put words to what I already felt as an opera-goer, and gave me some historical understanding of how the language (or perhaps more properly, tools) behind the form changed over time.

The book has gotten a lot of flak for being so harsh on Puccini. I think this is undeserved. First of all, it also criticizes Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner, to the extent the author deems it warranted. But second of all, I think we can all agree that pretty melodies are fine and worth listening to, but don't necessarily make a good four-hour theater experience. Turandot is just...kind of vanilla. And that's not even accounting for its problematic orientalism, which Kerman calls out too (and this in the 1950s!). It's like painting: an impressionist painting can be pretty. Does that mean it is the epitome of painting? Not necessarily. It needs structural balance, fine technique, an artistic viewpoint, and that know-it-when-you-see-it "thing" that makes a masterpiece.

For anyone interested on a well-argued and illuminating perspective on opera up to Stravinsky, read this. I only wish there were a sequel to this book, covering current opera composer such as Adams, Glass, and so forth.

[Marianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author raises a great question, which every musicologist have to answer "In opera who is the dramatist, the composer or the poet?".

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opera is indeed a drama! The composer and music is the main force driving drama rather than any other aspect of opera. Most enjoyable part is when he shits on puccini and calls tosca a shabby little shocker but also have u considered that puccini is fun to watch and the music is pretty no thoughts head empty but that might just be that second rate art corrupting the common mans perception of opera

Bit hard to follow compared to visual art books since so much of opera is auditory and also about the full experience? Did see orfeo and eurydice by gluck while reading this and while it did give me more appreciation for it, i also didnt feel nearly as emotional as kerman did when listening to orfeos aria in act iii lol it was good i just dk how much drama is needed for full dramatic effect. Think i need to read more about music in general to get a better understanding of where exactly hes coming from and how arguments are structured. Its introduced me to new operas though! But when he makes claims that “this line creates a dramatic force which does XYZ” i feel like u could say that about any line in music since music is so subjective?? But anyways Wagner does reign supreme for operas though

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Kerman advocates a serious search for dramatic values in Opera in this classic work. Readable and not too technical, at least for the opera lovers, this book discusses the history and theory of opera from Monteverdi to Stravinsky and beyond. I enjoyed his discussion of the impact of Shakespeare on Verdi's opera with a chapter on Otello. The different forms of opera whether neoclassic, singspiel, symphonic or grand are analyzed with useful examples. Kerman knows how to think about music and critic the compositions with elegant style. I enjoyed this excursion into words about the drama of some of the music I love and cherish.

[kacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

though not a Wagnerite, Kerman's operatic aesthetic, with its primacy of place given to drama, is unabashedly Wagnerian. it should thus come as no surprise that all the masterworks he applauds are by Austro-German or French composers; besides Verdi and Monteverdi, the Italians are alternately castigated or patronizingly bypassed. though his insights are many and his points are cogently, not to say persuasively, argued, such a critical aesthetic has less to do with opera, the lyric/spectacular/heroic Italian dramatic tradition, than with musikdrama, that Wagnerian appropriation.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kerman has a lot of strong opinions. He is at his best when he really loves something, like Mozart's operas and Verdi's. He is less convincing when he tries to describe the importance of certain works that he less than completely loves. He also really hates Puccini. Still, an interesting perspective on what is unique about opera, and how the best operas take advantage of the art form's special characteristics.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting perspective on opera, one which essentially gives music the dominant role in creating and maintaining the drama of any operatic piece. While this certainly ignores the idea that a good story can inspire good music, it has several original ideas and is a worthwhile read for anybody interested in opera and opera criticism.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides]

Who could resist that face? Well, okay ... normal people. But it's so amusing!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope the publisher corrected the myriad typographical errors -- Buechner? Beuchner? Büchner? In The Turn of the Screw it's Miss Jessel, not Miss Jessop. -- for the 50th Anniversary Edition.