"A comprehensive analysis of Roger Sessions' opera""Montezuma"""
Mason, Charles Norman
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/70816
Description
Title
"A comprehensive analysis of Roger Sessions' opera""Montezuma"""
Author(s)
Mason, Charles Norman
Issue Date
1982
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Music
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
D.M.A.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Music
Abstract
In this thesis the music in Roger Sessions' opera Montezuma is analyzed with reference to its support of plot, characterization, diction, and scenery.
Chapter 1 gives a brief biography of Roger Sessions. Included in this biography is a description of the stylistic changes Sessions has undergone and a discussion of his attitudes toward the use of the twelve-tone system.
Chapter 2 contains a biography of G. A. Borgese, the librettist of Montezuma. Also in Chapter 2 the possible sources of the libretto are discussed and differences between the course of events in the libretto and those which actually occurred in history are pointed out.
In Chapter 3 how the music supports plot is examined on three different levels. The first level discusses the major events of the opera, the second level looks at the change of events within a scene, and the third level discusses the change of events within a character's mind.
The discussion in Chapter 4 centers on the way the music reflects the personalities or traits of the characters in the opera. The discussion demonstrates that while there are weaknesses in the musical portrayal of Malinche and Montezuma, overall Sessions' music greatly enhances the traits of the characters.
Chapter 5 demonstrates Sessions' concern for a clear portrayal of the text of the opera. The musical enhancement of the text is examined on three levels; the paragraph, the sentence, and the word.
Chapter 6 discusses the musical support of scenery. It is argued in this chapter that it is with the reflection of scenery that Sessions' music reaches its greatest heights.
Finally, Chapter 7 discusses the technical aspects of the music with the intention of providing the reader with some idea of how the music was composed.
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