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Dissertation Information for Mara Renee Wade

NAME:
- Mara Renee Wade

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Germanic Languages and Literatures

SCHOOL:
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA) (1984)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: THE EARLY GERMAN PASTORAL "SINGSPIEL"

Abstract: The focus of this study is on the earliest German-language opera libretti, the pastoral Singspiele. The history of the term is traced throughout various German poetical treatises of the seventeenth century, beginning with Opitz and ending with Stieler. The three works studied are: Seelewig (1644) by Georg Philipp Harsdorffer (1607-1658) and Sigmund Theophil Staden (1607-1655); Psyche (1652) by Sigmund von Birken (1626-1681) and Georg Walch (d.1656); and Amelinde (1657) by Anton Ulrich, Duke of Braunschweig and Luneburg (1633-1704) and Sophie Elisabeth, Duchess of Braunschweig and Luneburg (1613-1676). A heretofore unnoticed translation from the Italian entitled Ein qar Schon Geistliches Waldqetichte qenant die Gluckseeliqe Seele (1637) which served as the primary literary source for Harsdorffer's text is examined in detail for the first time and compared to Seelewig in terms of themes, motifs, and meters. New information regarding the composer of Birken's text Psyche, Georg Walch, as well as about this Singspiel itself, is also brought to light. The performance of Seelewig at the Wolfenbuttel court in 1654 and its influence on Anton Ulrich's Amelinde is discussed in depth. All three works, Seelewig, Psyche, and Amelinde are compared with each other in terms of dramatic structure, poetic formulation of the text, and extent of musical accompaniment. The themes and motifs of these early pastoral Singspiele as well as the historical development of the term Singspiel in the German language indicate that these works are direct descendants of early Italian opera or dramma per musica. In fact, the single allegorical theme, that of the struggle between the Soul (Anima) and Body (Corpo) in human life unites all three of the German Singspiele. Additionally, similarities of the German text Ein gar Schon Geistliches Waldgetichte (1637) to the Italian Rappresentazione di Anima e di Corpo by Cavalieri and Manni are discussed in detail. The three German works were clearly written for didactic purposes and demonstrate an attempt to portray the rewards of virtue in harmony with a Christian, that is German Protestant, world view.

MPACT Scores for Mara Renee Wade

A = 1
C = 1
A+C = 2
T = 1
G = 1
W = 1
TD = 1
TA = 0
calculated 2014-07-02 17:39:37

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