Just for the Ladies? Compilation, Knowledge Practice and Pasticcio in England around 1720

In 1719, the Royal Academy of Music was founded with the purpose of setting Italian opera in England on solid ground. Previously, at least two thirds of the Italian operas staged in London had been pasticci. Much of the criticism of the Italian opera before 1719 concerned stylistic fickleness. This...

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Main Author: Knoth Ina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2021-12-01
Series:Musicology Today
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/muso-2021-0003
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author Knoth Ina
author_facet Knoth Ina
author_sort Knoth Ina
collection DOAJ
description In 1719, the Royal Academy of Music was founded with the purpose of setting Italian opera in England on solid ground. Previously, at least two thirds of the Italian operas staged in London had been pasticci. Much of the criticism of the Italian opera before 1719 concerned stylistic fickleness. This is just one reason why it seems likely that the declining number of pasticci after 1719 can be interpreted as an effect of the move against stylistic compilations in music. In fact, in the first period of the Academy’s opera management (from 1720 to 1728) the share of pasticci fell to approximately 10 percent or even less – depending on where the dividing line is placed at a time before the English definition of the operatic pasticcio was established. My paper focuses on some experiments between ‘opera’ and ‘pasticcio’, staged in the Royal Academy’s first period (particularly Muzio Scevola), presented against the backdrop of the audience’s more general cultural knowledge practices and the works’ appeal to female members of the audience.
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spelling doaj-art-7fa30e9f1ec647869cb5bd9695efcb282025-08-20T02:38:19ZengSciendoMusicology Today1734-16632353-57332021-12-01181111910.2478/muso-2021-0003Just for the Ladies? Compilation, Knowledge Practice and Pasticcio in England around 1720Knoth Ina0Universität HamburgIn 1719, the Royal Academy of Music was founded with the purpose of setting Italian opera in England on solid ground. Previously, at least two thirds of the Italian operas staged in London had been pasticci. Much of the criticism of the Italian opera before 1719 concerned stylistic fickleness. This is just one reason why it seems likely that the declining number of pasticci after 1719 can be interpreted as an effect of the move against stylistic compilations in music. In fact, in the first period of the Academy’s opera management (from 1720 to 1728) the share of pasticci fell to approximately 10 percent or even less – depending on where the dividing line is placed at a time before the English definition of the operatic pasticcio was established. My paper focuses on some experiments between ‘opera’ and ‘pasticcio’, staged in the Royal Academy’s first period (particularly Muzio Scevola), presented against the backdrop of the audience’s more general cultural knowledge practices and the works’ appeal to female members of the audience.https://doi.org/10.2478/muso-2021-0003muzio scevolaeducationpasticciopaolo rollimargherita durastanti
spellingShingle Knoth Ina
Just for the Ladies? Compilation, Knowledge Practice and Pasticcio in England around 1720
Musicology Today
muzio scevola
education
pasticcio
paolo rolli
margherita durastanti
title Just for the Ladies? Compilation, Knowledge Practice and Pasticcio in England around 1720
title_full Just for the Ladies? Compilation, Knowledge Practice and Pasticcio in England around 1720
title_fullStr Just for the Ladies? Compilation, Knowledge Practice and Pasticcio in England around 1720
title_full_unstemmed Just for the Ladies? Compilation, Knowledge Practice and Pasticcio in England around 1720
title_short Just for the Ladies? Compilation, Knowledge Practice and Pasticcio in England around 1720
title_sort just for the ladies compilation knowledge practice and pasticcio in england around 1720
topic muzio scevola
education
pasticcio
paolo rolli
margherita durastanti
url https://doi.org/10.2478/muso-2021-0003
work_keys_str_mv AT knothina justfortheladiescompilationknowledgepracticeandpasticcioinenglandaround1720