Mozart's Operas and National Politics
Canon Formation in Prague from 1791 to the Present

This wide-ranging study explores how Czech and German nationalism has influenced the reception of Mozart's operas in Prague over the centuries.

Martin Nedbal (Author)

9781009257596, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 10 August 2023

308 pages
25.1 x 17.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.69 kg

'Fascinating.' Larry Wolff, Times Literary Supplement

As both an in-depth study of Mozart criticism and performance practice in Prague, and a history of how eighteenth-century opera was appropriated by later political movements and social groups, this book explores the reception of Mozart's operas in Prague between 1791 and the present and reveals the profound influence of politics on the construction of the Western musical canon. Tracing the links between performances of Mozart's operas and strategies that Bohemian musicians, critics, directors, musicologists, and politicians used to construct modern Czech and German identities, Nedbal explores the history of the canonization process from the perspective of a city that has often been regarded as peripheral to mainstream Western music history. Individual chapters focus on Czech and German adaptations of Mozart's operas for Prague's theaters, operatic criticism published in Prague's Czech and German journals, the work of Bohemian historians interpreting Mozart, and endeavours of cultural activists to construct monuments in recognition of the composer.

Part I. Authenticity and Ethnicity: 1. Werktreue, patriotism, and nationalism in Prague productions of Mozart's operas
2. Mozart and ethnic identity
Part II. Monuments and Politics: 3. Bertramka and the politics of Prague's Mozart monuments
4. La clemenza di Tito and the Habsburg dynasty in Bohemia, 1791–1891
Part III. Translations and Adaptations: 5. Wenzel Mihule and Don Giovanni
6. Die Zauberflöte and Czech National theater.

Subject Areas: Opera [AVGC9]