Vox Eurydice - by Margaret Ann Mendenhall (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Vox Eurydice: The Ascent of the Female Rescuer in German-Language Opera is a mythological and depth psychological analysis written from a feminist perspective, on the emergence of the theme of rescue stories, and specifically plots where a female heroine saves a male character, which arose in German-language opera during the roughly one hundred years that spanned the lifetimes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner.
Margaret Ann Mendenhall argues that the German-language works of these three musical giants grew out of the rescue story paradigm, as an extension of Italian opera buffa and French opéra comique. This is reflected in Mozart's Singspiele and Beethoven's one completed opera, Fidelio, considered the epitome of the German-language rescue opera. The author then examines Wagner's oeuvre, not only his ten mature masterpieces, but also three earlier operas and his unfinished pieces. The author also posits that the need for the ascent of the female rescuer in German-language opera was unconsciously tied into the desire of the people of the German-speaking territories for a homeland, and how the presence of this archetype subsided soon after a German nation was established in 1871.

To see the author's interview about the book on the Myth Lit webinar, click here: https: //fatesandgraces.com/webinars/myth-lit-webinar-margaret-ann-mendenhall/

Review Quotes

"Vox Eurydice is a stunning work of revisionary feminism in re-imagining the major works of opera that narrate the archetypal myth. Orpheus fails to rescue his dead wife Eurydice so unlocking multiple stories of masculine dominance. As opera, these are now explored, contextualized, critiqued and reframed by this powerfully persuasive book. At last, Eurydice and her sisters have their voice."

About the Author