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Abstract: »This dissertation explores contemporary representations of sexual violence on the operatic stage. In recent years, activist movements like #MeToo, the Metropolitan Opera’s 2017 dismissal of James Levine, and high-profile allegations against Placido Domingo and others have illuminated the prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse in the opera industry. All the while,depictions of rape and violence against women are mainstays on operatic stages. I analyze performances of several canonic operas produced between 2000 and 2019 and consider how the staging of sexual violence both affects the stories these operas tell and resonates with present-day audiences. Studies of productions are underrepresented in opera scholarship, and my project is the first extended exploration of directorial practice in an explicitly political and ethical framework.
My production analysis, situated within a feminist ethical framework, focuses on two areas of inquiry: 1) the agency of the female characters victimized by sexual violence in the productions; and 2) the stylistic approach to putting acts of sexual violence onstage. Each chapter is a discrete case study of a particular issue relating to staging sexual violence on the contemporary opera stage. I analyze productions of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Don Giovanni, Guillaume Tell, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Salome, and Turandot, by directors including Calixto Bieito, Atom Egoyan, Stephen Lawless, Wajdi Mouawad, David McVicar, and Francesca Zambello. By bringing contemporary opera practice into the purview of opera studies, feminist theatre studies, and trauma theory, I take the work of opera practitioners seriously and consider the ways their choices respond to and impact our culture. Staging the implicit or explicit sexual violence in canonic operas can, in the best cases, allow for nuanced commentary on the subject in our cultural moment. Even adding sexual violence to operas that do not typically feature it can open up space for new understandings of familiar stories and characters and mount powerful critiques of the normalization and invisibility of sexual violence in opera history. But putting sexual violence onstage is controversial and poses real risks to survivors of sexual abuse in the audience. By positioning opera performance and reception as public discourse, I interrogate the cultural work done by operatic representations of sexual violence, how they function, and what is at stake when we put rape onstage.« (Source: Thesis)

Contents:

	Abstract (p. iii)
	Résumé (p. v)
	Acknowledgements (p. vii)
	Chapter 1: Introduction (p. 1)
		Literature Review (p. 5)
		Methodology (p. 8)
		Chapter Outline (p. 13)
		Conclusion (p. 15)
	Chapter 2: Die Entführung aus dem Serail: Violence and Agency in Captivity (p. 18)
		Calixto Bieito’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (p. 20)
			Sexual Violence and Agency in Bieito’s Seraglio (p. 24)
			Sexual Violence and Style in Bieito’s Seraglio (p. 28)
				Nudity (p. 31)
				Realism (p. 34)
				Stage Action and Music (p. 36)
			Bieito’s Seraglio as Brothel (p. 41)
			Violence and Desensitization (p. 51)
		Wajdi Mouawad’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (p. 54)
			Agency and the Absence of Violence in Mouawad’s Seraglio (p. 58)
		Conclusion (p. 65)
	Chapter 3: Salome as Victim (p. 69)
	Chapter 4: Watching Don Giovanni for Sexual Violence (p. 123)
	Chapter 5: Rape in/as Warfare (p. 164)
	Conclusion: Ethical Criticism in Practice (p. 202)
	Appendix 1: Opera Plot Synopses (p. 208)
		Die Entführung aus dem Serail (p. 208)
		Salome (p. 208)
		Don Giovanni (p. 209)
		Guillaume Tell (p. 210)
		La forza del destino (p. 210)
		Un ballo in maschera (p. 211)
		Turandot (p. 212)
	Appendix 2: Salome Productions 2008–2018 Featuring Sexual Abuse of Salome (p. 213)
	Appendix 3: Don Giovanni Productions Online by Streaming Service (p. 214)
	Bibliography (p. 215)
		Reviews Cited (p. 223)
			Die Entführung aus dem Serail (p. 223)
			Salome (p. 223)
			Guillaume Tell (p. 227)
			La forza del destino (p. 227)
			Un ballo in maschera (p. 227)

Note: Cormier, Margaret. Rape at the Opera: Staging Sexual Violence. Ann Arbor 2024. - Bibliographic Entry: Info

Wikipedia: History of Europe: History of Austria, History of Germany, History of Italy | Opera: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Don Giovanni, Die Entführung aus dem Serail | Opera: Giacomo Puccini / Turandot | Opera: Gioachino Rossini / William Tell (opera) | Opera: Richard Strauss / Salome (opera) | Opera: Giuseppe Verdi / La forza del destino, Un ballo in maschera | Sex and the law: Rape / History of rape