The Singing Turk

Ottoman Power and Operatic Emotions on the European Stage from the Siege of Vienna to the Age of Napoleon

Nonfiction, History, Modern, 18th Century
Cover of the book The Singing Turk by Larry Wolff, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Larry Wolff ISBN: 9780804799652
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: August 30, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Larry Wolff
ISBN: 9780804799652
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: August 30, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

While European powers were at war with the Ottoman Empire for much of the eighteenth century, European opera houses were staging operas featuring singing sultans and pashas surrounded by their musical courts and harems. Mozart wrote The Abduction from the Seraglio. Rossini created a series of works, including The Italian Girl in Algiers. And these are only the best known of a vast repertory. This book explores how these representations of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, the great nemesis of Christian Europe, became so popular in the opera house and what they illustrate about European–Ottoman international relations.

After Christian armies defeated the Ottomans at Vienna in 1683, the Turks no longer seemed as threatening. Europeans increasingly understood that Turkish issues were also European issues, and the political absolutism of the sultan in Istanbul was relevant for thinking about politics in Europe, from the reign of Louis XIV to the age of Napoleon. While Christian European composers and publics recognized that Muslim Turks were, to some degree, different from themselves, this difference was sometimes seen as a matter of exotic costume and setting. The singing Turks of the stage expressed strong political perspectives and human emotions that European audiences could recognize as their own.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

While European powers were at war with the Ottoman Empire for much of the eighteenth century, European opera houses were staging operas featuring singing sultans and pashas surrounded by their musical courts and harems. Mozart wrote The Abduction from the Seraglio. Rossini created a series of works, including The Italian Girl in Algiers. And these are only the best known of a vast repertory. This book explores how these representations of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, the great nemesis of Christian Europe, became so popular in the opera house and what they illustrate about European–Ottoman international relations.

After Christian armies defeated the Ottomans at Vienna in 1683, the Turks no longer seemed as threatening. Europeans increasingly understood that Turkish issues were also European issues, and the political absolutism of the sultan in Istanbul was relevant for thinking about politics in Europe, from the reign of Louis XIV to the age of Napoleon. While Christian European composers and publics recognized that Muslim Turks were, to some degree, different from themselves, this difference was sometimes seen as a matter of exotic costume and setting. The singing Turks of the stage expressed strong political perspectives and human emotions that European audiences could recognize as their own.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book Labor and Love in Guatemala by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book The Co-Presidency of Bush and Cheney by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book Science and the Life-World by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book Failed Democratization in Prewar Japan by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book The Co-Creation Paradigm by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book Paths to Peace by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book Brokering Peace in Nuclear Environments by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book The Culture of Military Innovation by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book Race on the Move by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book Public No More by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book In Good Company by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book A Life with Mary Shelley by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book The American Yawp by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book Vortex of Conflict by Larry Wolff
Cover of the book Youth and Empire by Larry Wolff
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy