Beschreibung
Drawing upon gender studies, musicology, German studies, and
literary theory, A Feminist Perspective on Opera
Interpretation develops a feminist analytic framework for
interpreting opera and for critiquing the usual
interpretations of opera, using Richard Wagner’s Der
fliegende Holländer as a case study. The feminist analysis,
in contrast to prior interpretations of Holländer,
identifies the intersection of gender and religion as at the
core of the opera’s main woman character, Senta. This
analysis allows for recognition of Senta’s power and moral
agency and demonstrates that the theory of interpretation
rather than the opera text determines the narrative.
Courtney W. Howland is the inaugural Research
Scholar at the Barnard Center for Research on Women, Barnard
College, Columbia University.
