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American Opera through American Content

Die amerikanische Metropole in der gegenwärtig florierenden Suche nach einer „Great American Opera“

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Zusammenfassung

In der amerikanischen Gegenwartsoper ist seit Ende des Kalten Kriegs ein signifikanter Anstieg der Uraufführungszahlen zu beobachten. Von Universitäts- und Provinzbühnen bis zu den prestige- und finanzstärksten Häusern in Chicago, Houston, New York und San Francisco werden im großen Stil Kompositionsaufträge vergeben. Diese Zunahme steht regelmäßig im Kontext der überkommenen Suche nach einer eigenständigen »Great American Opera«. Der Beitrag beschreibt zunächst diese ästhetische Agenda sowie den diagnostizierten aktuellen Aufschwung (1), um dann nach den Strategien zu Fragen, die angelegt werden, um eine dezidiert ‚amerikanische‘ Oper zu fördern (2). Dabei wird sichtbar, dass der Amerikabezug weit weniger über musikalische Standards als vielmehr über die Stoffe der Plots zu verankern versucht wird. Im Blick hierauf fragt der Beitrag sodann nach der Rolle der charakteristischen, weltweit bekannten amerikanischen Landschaften urbaner Metropolen wie New York oder San Francisco in der eingeschlagenen Suche nach einer spezifisch amerikanischen Identität in der Gegenwartsoper (3).

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Döhl, F. (2019). American Opera through American Content. In: Grünewald-Schukalla, L., Lücke, M., Rauch, M., Winter, C. (eds) Musik und Stadt. Jahrbuch für Musikwirtschafts- und Musikkulturforschung . Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-23773-8_5

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