Report of Monthly Regular Meeting February 2024 (The 217th Meeting of Opera Research Group)
Waseda Institute for Research in Opera and Music Theatre (WIROM), Comprehensive Research Organization,Waseda University
- Time and Date: February 3rd (Sat.) 2024, 16:30 – 18:00 (JST)
- Format: Online meeting (Zoom)
- Presenter: IWASA, Megumi
- Affiliation: Musashi University
- Title: “Evaluating the Pivotal Role of the Unicorn Opera in the Renaissance of Handel’s Operatic Works”
- Language: Japanese
- Abstract: George Frideric Handel’s operas have long been part of the repertoire in major European opera houses, but it is only in recent years that his works have begun to be performed regularly in Japan. This marks a departure from the past, where Handel’s compositions were relatively unknown to Japanese audiences, and now we are anticipating the firm establishment of his works within the country’s operatic repertoire. Since the beginning of the 20th century, following what is known as the “Handel Renaissance,” which started at various Handel festivals in Germany, there has been an international effort to revive Handel’s operas in various forms. However, for a long time, such revivals were often confined to small-scale theaters and limited to a few performances, leading to only a moderate level of musical and artistic recognition. This presentation proposes a reevaluation of the Unicorn Opera’s productions at the Unicorn Theatre. Usually acknowledged within the amateur performance history of Handel’s operatic renaissance, these performances have been largely overlooked in the international context of Handel’s operatic revival, due to their unconventional venue and the limited scale of their productions. However, a reconsideration of the narrative to acknowledge the contributions of the Unicorn Opera is needed, as well as a recognition of their potential influence on the contemporary staging of Handel’s operatic works.
- Profile of Presenter: I specialize in British Eighteenth-Century Studies, encompassing art history, aesthetics, and art theory. In relation to opera, I discuss Handel’s works in London during the first half of the eighteenth century and their connection with contemporary visual culture and art theories. Papers: “Introducing ‘Historically Informed Performance’ to Baroque Opera Staging: Focusing on Productions of Handel’s Operas (Part 1),” Journal of the Musashi University Humanities Society, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 97-118 (March 2023); “Public Spaces and Theatre in Eighteenth-Century London: The Rise of Pantomime and Pictorial Criticism of Spectacles,” Annual Bulletin of the Japanese Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, No. 36, pp. 43-56 (June 2021).
- Moderator: YAMAMOTO, Mariko
＊ Comment: There were 23 participants
