Ian Bostridge, "Identity in Performance", Lecture 1 of 3

The 2021 Berlin Family Lectures with Ian Bostridge
"Musical Identities"
Lecture one: "Identity in Performance"
April 11, 2021
Classical music offers a fluid and complex perspective on identity. This lecture focuses on three vocal works from disparate eras, which explore and use identity in different ways: Monteverdi's Renaissance work for narrator and instrumental ensemble, Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (the battle between Tancred and Clorinda); Robert Schumann's 1840 song cycle for voice and piano, Frauenliebe und Leben (A woman's life and love); and Benjamin Britten's 20th century "church opera" Curlew River, inspired by Japanese Noh theatre, in which a female protagonist is played by a male singer.
This is the first lecture in a three lecture series presented in the spring of 2021 at the University of Chicago.
Named for Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin, the Berlin Family Lectures bring leading scholars, writers, and creative artists from around the world to the University of Chicago. Learn more at berlinfamilylec...​.
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