that it could have worked, without the need for further written parts of some
kind (as suggested by Goldschmidt).- Arteaga, Stefano. Le rivoluzioni del teatro musicale italiano dalla sua origine
fino al presente.Bologna: C. Trenti, 1783–1788. 3v. ML17333 .A7.
A history and theory of opera. The author finds that opera, in comparison
with spoken drama, is better able to move the emotions. Arteaga puts empha-
sis on elegance, deploring excessive spectacle, crude plot elements, and demon-
strative singers. Gluck represents his ideals for simplicity and realism, but he
gives little credit to Calzabigi. - Bianconi, Lorenzo. “Production, Consumption and Political Function of Sev-
enteenth- Century Opera.” Early Music History 4 (1984): 209–296.
Concerns the political and economic context of early Italian opera. Works of
Mazzocchi and Cavalli are discussed from that aspect. A useful appendix pre-
sents many relevant documents. - Brumana, Biancamaria. “Il Tasso e l’opera nel seicento.” In Tasso, la musica,
i musicisti,ed. Maria Antonella Balsano and Thomas Walker, 137–164 (Flo-
rence: Olschki, 1988). ML5 .Q13.
A discussion of Tasso’s influence on early opera, with a list of some 200 works
based on his poems.
Opera: 18th Century
- Strohm, Reinhard. Die italienische Oper im 18. Jahrhundert. Wilhelmshaven:
Heinrichshofen, 1979. 398p. ISBN 3-7959-0110-3. ML1703 .S87.
A scholarly treatment of 24 operas, commedie per musica, intermezzi, and
opere buffe, citing editions and secondary literature. The composers are dis-
cussed and the works analyzed. Bibliography of 261 items, name and topic
index. - Strohm, Reinhard. “Dramma per musica”: Italian “opera seria” of the 18th
Century.New Haven, Conn.: Yale U.P., 1998. x, 326p. ISBN 0-380006-454-3.
ML1733.3 .S87.
Consists of previously published essays, given here in English. Strohm’s basic
theme is that Italian opera was “theatre in the first place and music in the sec-
ond”; thus, he focuses on the libretti. These tended to be serious, since the
Arcadian reform had rejected comedy. There is notably strong material on
Hasse and Handel. Bibliography of about 250 items, index. - Burt, Nathaniel. “Opera in Arcadia.” MQ41 (1955): 145–170.
The Accademia degli Arcadi, established in Rome, 1670, gave its name to the
Arcadian movement or reform. Operas written according to Arcadian precepts
began with Pollarolo’s La forza del virtù(1693), which was the “point of ori-
gin for the development of Metastasian opera seria.” That work is analyzed, as
is La Dori(1663) by Appolonio Appoloni. Changes from 17th- to 18th-century
opera are discussed in terms of form, tone, and structure, defining a move
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