TY - BOOK ID - 5446410 TI - Magic flutes & enchanted forests : the supernatural in eighteenth-century musical theater PY - 2008 SN - 9780226078090 9780226078106 0226078094 0226078108 9780226078113 0226078116 9786612239434 6612239433 PB - Chicago : University of Chicago Press, DB - UniCat KW - Musical theater KW - Supernatural in musical theater. KW - Music and magic. KW - Théâtre musical KW - Surnaturel dans le théâtre musical KW - Musique et magie KW - History KW - Histoire KW - Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, KW - Théâtre musical KW - Surnaturel dans le théâtre musical UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:5446410 AB - Drawing on hundreds of operas, singspiels, ballets, and plays with supernatural themes, 'Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests' argues that the tension between fantasy and Enlightenment-era rationality shaped some of the most important works of eighteenth-century musical theater and profoundly influenced how audiences and critics responded to them. David J. Buch reveals that despite& and perhaps even because of& their fundamental irrationality, fantastic and exotic themes acquired extraordinary force and popularity during the period, pervading theatrical works with music in the French, German, and Italian mainstream. Considering prominent compositions by Gluck, Rameau, and Haydn, as well as many seminal contributions by lesser-known artists, Buch locates the origins of these magical elements in such historical sources as ancient mythology, European fairy tales, the Arabian Nights, and the occult. He concludes with a brilliant excavation of the supernatural roots of Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' and 'Don Giovanni', building a new foundation for our understanding of the magical themes that proliferated in Mozart's wake. ER -