Michael Ewans Bücher

Exploring the influence of Aeschylus's Oresteia on Wagner's Ring cycle, this book delves into the thematic and structural parallels between these monumental works. It highlights how the ancient Greek tragedy's exploration of fate, justice, and the human condition informs Wagner's operatic narrative. Through detailed analysis, the author uncovers the intricate connections between the two, revealing the Oresteia's significant impact on Wagner's artistic vision and the evolution of his musical storytelling.

The revised edition of Michael Ewans' English translation of the Oresteia incorporates recent scholarship and insights, enhancing the understanding of this classic trilogy. It reflects updates and interpretations that have emerged since the original 1995 translation, offering readers a fresh perspective on the themes and nuances of the work.

The book delves into the appropriation of classical Greek tragedy and epic poetry in opera, showcasing eight case studies from Monteverdi to Turnage. By analyzing works like Il ritorno d'Ulisse and Greek, Ewans highlights the complex relationship between operas and their Greek sources. He focuses on the critical divergences in plot, character, and dramatic strategy, revealing how these adaptations raise important thematic and interpretative questions. This comparative analysis offers insights into the evolving nature of storytelling in operatic form.

Merging the theoretical framework with the practical elements of staging an ancient Greek play, this indispensable guide offers directors and actors an excellent starting point for mounting their production. Looking briefly first at the conditions of ancient Greek performance and the conventions of the Greek theatre, this practical guide goes on to explore, with analysed examples, the issues that today's theatre-makers need to consider in order to successfully stage ancient Greek drama. These topics include: - choice of translation - setting - costumes - masks - mode of delivery - themes - acting style for both tragedy and comedy - handling of the chorus - solutions to performing Greek drama on an end-on stage, as opposed to the arena space which the Greeks used The final part of the book examines larger questions, including those related to ancient Greek values, myth and the individual ('characterization'), and the gods and fate – all of which need to be taken into consideration when approaching a contemporary production. Overall, the book presents a key overview of Greek theatre in an accessible and practical manner not presently offered elsewhere.

This book offers a new, accurate and actable translation of one of Euripides' most popular plays, together with a commentary which provides insight into the challenges it sets for production and suggestions for how to solve them. The introduction discusses the social and cultural context of the play and its likely impact on the original audience, the way in which it was originally performed, the challenges which the lead roles present today and Medea's implications for the modern audience. The text of the translation is followed by the 'Theatrical Commentary' section on the issues involved in staging each scene and chorus today, embodying insights gained from a professional production. Notes on the translation, a glossary of names, suggestions for further reading and a chronology of Euripides' life and times round out the volume. The book is intended for use by theatre practitioners who wish to stage or workshop Medea and by students both of drama, theatre and performance and of classical studies.

"In Performing opera: a practical guide for singers and directors Michael Ewans provides a detailed and practical workbook to performing many of the most commonly produced operas. Aimed at singers and directors as well as opera lovers, it draws on examples from twenty-four operas ranging in period from Gluck and Mozart to Britten and Tippett, to illustrate exactly how opera functions as dramatic form: how words are illuminated by the composer's music and, in turn, how the singers' movements, expressions, gestures and use of props, together with the costumes and décor, present the director's own illumination of both text and music. Grounded in close analyses of performances of thirty scenes and five whole operas by first-rate singers and celebrated directors, Performing opera provides readers with an appreciation of the unique challenges and skills required by performers and directors. It will assist them in their own performance and equip them with detailed knowledge of works most commonly featured in the repertoire. In the first part of the book the analysis progresses from scenes in which the singers are silent, via arias and monologues, duets and confrontations, up to ensembles. Wider issues are subsequently addressed: encounters with offstage events, encounters with the numinous, characterization, and the sense of inevitability in tragic opera. Each section is supplemented by a series of discussion questions to assist students and teachers, and each chapter contains numerous examples of music andnew translations of the texts for the scenes studied"--Provided by publisher

Georg Büchner (1813-37) left Woyzeck unfinished at his death. It is one of the most remarkable dramas ever written in any language, and since its publication in 1879 and its first performance in 1913 it has influenced almost every significant movement in European theatre.This book presents a new, accurate and actable English translation, based on the German edition by Werner Lehmann. It also includes an introduction devoted to the dramatic style of Woyzeck, the criteria for a reconstruction and a translation, and the play's production demands; and a theatrical commentary on each scene, devoted to the problems of staging the play and the ways in which each scene can be realized in production.