{"product_id":"music-for-the-melodramatic-theatre-michael-v-pisani-9781609382308","title":"Music for the Melodramatic Theatre in Nineteenth-Century London \u0026 New York","description":"Throughout the nineteenth century, people heard more music in the theatre--accompanying popular dramas such as \u003ci\u003eFrankenstein\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOliver Twist\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eUncle Tom's Cabin\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLady Audley's Secret\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Corsican Brothers\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Three Musketeers\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as historical romances by Shakespeare and Schiller--than they did in almost any other area of their lives. But unlike film music, theatrical music has received very little attention from scholars and so it has been largely lost to us. In this groundbreaking study, Michael V. Pisani goes in search of these abandoned sounds. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mining old manuscripts and newspapers, he finds that starting in the 1790s, theatrical managers in Britain and the United States began to rely on music to play an interpretive role in melodramatic productions. During the nineteenth century, instrumental music--in addition to song--was a common feature in the production of stage plays. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The music played by instrumental ensembles not only enlivened performances but also served other important functions. Many actors and actresses found that accompanimental music helped them sustain the emotional pitch of a monologue or dialogue sequence. Music also helped audiences to identify the motivations of characters. Playwrights used music to hold together the hybrid elements of melodrama, heighten the build toward sensation, and dignify the tragic pathos of villains and other characters. Music also aided manager-directors by providing cues for lighting and other stage effects. Moreover, in a century of seismic social and economic changes, music could provide a moral compass in an uncertain moral universe. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Featuring dozens of musical examples and images of the old theatres, \u003ci\u003eMusic for the Melodramatic Theatre\u003c\/i\u003e charts the progress of the genre from its earliest use in the eighteenth century to the elaborate stage productions of the very early twentieth century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Michael V. Pisani\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1609382307\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781609382308\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Iowa Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.33lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.17h x 6.36w x 1.05d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2014 pg. 616","brand":"Michael V. Pisani","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43979356078335,"sku":"9781609382308","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6613a31e-df04-4dbc-9b72-2ba12149394a.jpg?v=1683245115","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/music-for-the-melodramatic-theatre-michael-v-pisani-9781609382308","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}