Showing papers by "Linda Hutcheon published in 2014"

Edward Said on Music: Always Comparative, Always Contrapuntal

Abstract: Just as the range of Edward Said’s literary, political, and theoretical writings was expanded through references to music, so too his reviews of performances and his essays on music were deeply influenced by his passion for both literature and politics. Ever the comparatist, he sought parallels and analogies between the arts but also between art and life. Indeed, it was his love for the music of Bach and the playing of Glenn Gould that inspired his theory of “contrapuntal” analysis as a way to move beyond insularity and provincialism in criticism.

The Inward Turn: American Opera Revisits America’s Past

Abstract: :Many modern American operas revisit canonical American literature (e.g., The Great Gatsby, A Streetcar Named Desire, Of Mice and Men, An American Tragedy, A View from a Bridge, Moby-Dick, McTeague, Margaret Garner) or base themselves on historical events, especially recent ones (e.g., X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Nixon in China, Dr. Atomic). However, what is striking is that the focus of the latter is most often on the remarkable or heroic individual—as, indeed, it is in what could be called recent “celebrity opera” as well (as in Marilyn or Jackie O)—thus revealing the enduring power of American exceptionalism to this day.