Calogero Di Liberto's "Fantasy on Cavalleria Rusticana" in the context of the Romantic opera fantasy for piano

Abstract

This study interprets the author's Fantasy for piano based on the opera Cavalleria Rusticana in the context of the operatic fantasy for piano that was a major genre in the Romantic period. The first two chapters provide an overview of the history of opera and concert life in the nineteenth century, and a history of the genre itself from its birth (mid-eighteenth century) to its decline, at the end of the nineteenth century. Special attention is paid to the world of Franz Liszt, the main exponent of the genre. Chapter three analyzes the style and structure of the author's Fantasy and shows its relationship to Mascagni's opera and Liszt's works. The final chapter suggests that despite modernism's disdain for the piano fantasy based on opera, the genre has a great deal to offer audiences.* *This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Windows MediaPlayer or RealPlayer.