| Kommentar |
Despite remaining at the borders of repertoire, Béla Bartók’s one-act opera on a libretto by Béla Balázs, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, is a work rich in interest for musicological research, if only because it is the composer’s sole attempt at the genre. As such, Bluebeard’s Castle doesn’t just give an idea of a compositional method applied to theatre, but it also provides an insight into a number of extra-musical matters. The seminar will aim to contribute to the current state of research by adopting a perspective that focuses on gender dynamics as portrayed in the opera, which will provide the starting point for a wider discussion on the representation of gender in 20th-century opera.
Even through its symbolist frame, Bluebeard’s Castle suggests that the interpretation intended by its authors – which implies the fated, unavoidable failure of marriage because of a natural incompatibility between genders – reveals something else. The relationship between Bluebeard and his wife Judith rests on a clear power structure which crashes the woman and favours the man more than it damages him. Through the examination of the opera both on a textual and musical level, the course would inspect the terms of such power structure, dissecting how abstract concepts such as ‘fate’ and ‘natural incompatibility’ reflect the very material reality of a patriarchal, heterosexist mindset.
In doing so, Bluebeard’s Castle will be incorporated into a broader debate about the sociocultural context which bred coeval examples of the genre. The analysis of other titles – aided by presentations from the students – will also centre depictions of gender and sexuality, with the intent to highlight the bodily and identity turmoil that is so typical of late Romanticism and its lasting effects on our perception of art and culture.
Studying the composers’ attempts to embrace, reject and question such matters will shed light on what is often passively accepted as ‘repertoire’, investigating the ideological consequences of the musical canon. The purpose of this seminar is to help students mature a critical approach towards the works they encounter, inviting them to see opera as a product of society and – to a lesser extent – vice versa. Opera can reflect, reinforce and occasionally contravene sociocultural norms, especially those concerning gender and sexuality. By addressing this possibility, the course will open a space for experimentation within theory and introduce the students to an interdisciplinary view of musicology. |
| Literatur |
Antokoletz, Elliott, and Canabal Antokoletz, Juana. Music Symbolism in the Operas of Debussy and Bartók. Trauma, Gender and the Unfolding of the Unconscious. Oxford University Press, 2004.
Bayley, Amanda (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Bartók, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Brett, Philip, Thomas, Gary C., and Wood, Elizabeth. Queering the Pitch. The New Gay and Lesbian Musicology. Routledge, 2006.
Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no. 40, December 1988, pp. 519-531.
Caswell, Austin B. “Maeterlinck’s and Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe-Bleue: A Feminist Opera?” Studies in Romanticism, vol. 27, no. 2, Summer 1988, pp. 203-220.
Frigyesi, Judit. “In Search of Meaning in Context: Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.” Current Musicology, no. 70, Fall 2000, pp. 5-31.
Kroó, György. “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.” Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, T. 1, Fasc. 3/4, 1961, pp. 251-340.
Leafstedt, Carl. Inside Bluebeard’s Castle. Music and Drama in Béla Bartók’s Opera. Oxford University Press, 1999.
McClary, Susan. Feminine Endings. Music, Gender, and Sexuality. University of Minnesota Press, 2002.
Wittig, Monique. The Straight Mind and Other Essays. Beacon Press, 1992. |
