The Assoluta Voice in Opera, 1797-1847

This work traces the emergence of the impressive vocal writing that resulted from the marriage of the bel canto and Romantic eras.

It also covers the uniquely versatile divas who were given the opportunities to make their mark from the time of Cherubini to that of a young Verdi.

Both the wide-ranging vocalism in the scores themselves and the artists capable of performing this style are referred to as assoluta.

Chapters consider Luigi Cherubini's Medee, Gioacchino Rossini's Armida, Carl Maria von Weber's Oberon, Gaetano Donizetti's Anna Bolena, Vincenzo Bellini's Norma, Donizetti's Gemma di Vergy and Roberto Devereux, the period of transition in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and Giuseppe Verdi's Nabucco and Macbeth.