In Early Modern times, techniques of assembling, compiling and arranging pre-existing material were part of the established working methods in many arts. In the world of 18th-century opera, such practices ensured that operas could become a commercial success because the substitution or compilation of arias fitting the singer’s abilities proved the best recipe for fulfilling the expectations of audiences. Known as »pasticcios« since the 18th-century, these operas have long been considered inferior patchwork. The volume collects essays that reconsider the pasticcio, contextualize it, define its preconditions, look at its material aspects and uncover its aesthetical principles.
O autorze
Berthold Over is a visiting research fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London (2023-2024) and works as a research associate at Zentrum für Telemann-Pflege und -Forschung in Magdeburg. Between 2009 and 2021 he took part in international research projects at the universities of Greifswald and Mainz investigating the 18th-century pasticcio, the mobility and migration of music and musicians in the 18th century, and the Roman cantata of Händel’s time. He has discovered previously unknown autographs by Vivaldi, Händel, and Mahler.
Gesa zur Nieden is a professor of musicology at Universität Greifswald, with research interests in 18th-century music theatre, the reception of Richard Wagner since 1945, and music and memory in pluralistic social contexts. After completing her Ph D in Paris and Bochum, she worked as a professor in Mainz and Hannover. Since 2010 she has co-led three international research projects: two on the mobility of early modern musicians and one on 18th-century operatic pasticcios.