Participatory Opera: Power and Agency in Post-Wagnerian Performance (Ashgate Interdisciplinary Studies in Opera)

Through the examination of participatory theories and practices, Participatory Opera offers a critical analysis of popular descriptions of spectator immersion and participation in contemporary opera, and explores resultant intersections with notions of individuality and community within these emerging contexts.As such, this book defines participatory opera, explores ways it challenges traditional roles of "audience," "performer," and "author," and situates Euro-American participatory opera within the broader context of participatory philosophy, theory, and art of the twentieth century.Part I examines key philosophies and theories surrounding audience participation throughout the twentieth century that later manifest in experimental opera works.Part II draws together the diverse practices and approaches described in the previous chapters towards a unifying theory of participatory opera through several focused case studies of twenty-first-century participatory operas.As a whole, this boo