En Samtida Opera. En empirisk studie av Giuseppe Verdis "Don Carlos" utifrån två fältstudier.

Abstract

This research looks into the modern revival of opera based on the study of two recent productions of Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo; the first is the 2010 production at the Gothenburg Opera in Gothenburg, Sweden and the second is the 2013 production at Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg, Austria. The goal is to discover what aspects a contemporary audience can relate to and identify with and why opera is still relevant today. This has been done partly through a semiotic analysis of the visual image (e.g. set, costume and lightning) and partly through a hermeneutical analysis of the themes in Don Carlo. Through conducting the research it becomes clear that opera as a format belongs to another time but by making it timeless it can still be brought to a contemporary audience. Ways to do this include: adopting a functional, even unconventional, visual design, highlighting the archetypical themes and by bringing the singers’ performance closer to the theatre tradition. The research finds that opera is still relevant in a contemporary world because it centres on humanity and its nature, and thus bridges the generational gap between its creation and today’s audience.