{"product_id":"singing-sappho-by-melina-esse-9780226741772","title":"Singing Sappho","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the theatrical stage to the literary salon, the figure of Sappho—the ancient poet and inspiring icon of feminine creativity—played a major role in the intertwining histories of improvisation, text, and performance throughout the nineteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExploring the connections between operatic and poetic improvisation in Italy and beyond, \u003ci\u003eSinging Sappho\u003c\/i\u003e combines earwitness accounts of famous female improviser-virtuosi with erudite analysis of musical and literary practices. Melina Esse demonstrates that performance played a much larger role in conceptions of musical authorship than previously recognised, arguing that discourses of spontaneity—specifically those surrounding the \u003ci\u003eimprovvisatrice\u003c\/i\u003e, or female poetic improviser—were paradoxically used to carve out a new authority for opera composers just as improvisation itself was falling into decline.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith this novel and nuanced book, Esse persuasively reclaims the agency of performers and their crucial role in constituting Italian opera as a genre in the nineteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47461362139372,"sku":"9780226741772","price":93.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780226741772-singing-sappho.jpg?v=1774966933","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/singing-sappho-by-melina-esse-9780226741772","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}