Musiktheater heute [Music Theater Today]
International Symposium of the Paul Sacher Foundation
Basel, 2001
Publications of the Paul Sacher Foundation, vol. 9
Edited by Hermann Danuser, with the assistance of
Matthias Kassel, 2003
445 pp. - 15.6 x 23.4 cm
ISBN 3-7957-0481-2 (PSB 1013)
EUR 32
This volume contains the proceedings of the «Music Theater Today» symposium. Besides introductory and interdisciplinary discussions, it presents papers on specific issues, grouped into the various subareas that make up the genre of opera: libretto, score, and stage setting. Current problems in traditional and avant-garde music theater are discussed in the context of theoretical writings using examples from particular artists and works. Some of the authors offer detailed evaluations of sources housed at the Paul Sacher Foundation for pieces of music theater by Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, Helmut Lachenmann, and Wolfgang Rihm. Also included are discussions of stage direction and design, contemporary dance theater, and musical structure in film dramaturgy. The volume is rounded off by two forums with well-known participants: an interview with Klaus Huber on his opera Schwarzerde, recently premièred in Basel, and a round-table discussion on the subject of «Music Theater: an Institution in Turmoil?», chaired by Peter Ruzicka and featuring Sylvain Cambreling, John Dew, Mauricio Kagel, Wolfgang Rihm, Michael Schindhelm, Jürg Stenzl, and Jürg Wyttenbach.