ShakespeareandMusic:AfterlivesandBorrowings

ThisisastudyoftherichanddiverserangeofmusicalresponsestoShakespearethathavetakenplacefromtheseventeenthcenturyonwards.Writtenfromaliteraryperspective,thebookexploresthemanygenresandcontextsinwhichShakespeareandhisworkhaveenjoyedamusicalafterlifediscussingopera,ballet,andclassicalsymphonyalongsidemusicalsandfilmsoundtracks,aswellasfolkmusicandhip–hoptraditions.Takingasitsstartingpointideasofcreativityandimprovisationstemmingfromearlymodernbaroquepracticesandthemorerecentexampleoftwentieth–centuryjazzadaptation,thisvolumeexploresthemanywaysinwhichShakespearesplaysandpoemshavebeenre–workedbymusicalcomposers.Italsoplacestheseculturalproductionsintheirownhistoricalmomentandcontext.Adaptationstudiesisafastemergingfieldofscholarshipandasacontributiontothisfield,ShakespeareandMusic:AfterlivesandBorrowings:developstheoriesandpracticesfromadaptationstudiestothinkaboutmusicalresponsestoShakespeareacrossthecenturiesbringstogetherinanexcitingintellectualencounterideasandmethodologiesderivingfromliterarycriticism,theatrehistory,filmstudies,andmusicologyexploresmusicinitswidestcontext,lookingatclassicalsymphoniesincludingtheworkofBerliozandElgarandoperasbyVerdiandBrittenaswellasBroadwaymusicals,filmscoresbyShostakovich,Walton,andcontemporaryperformers,andthejazzadaptationsofDukeEllingtonandothers.ThisisatimelystudythatwillappealtoawidereadershipfromloversofShakespeareandclassicalmusicthroughtostudentsoffilmandhistoriansofthetheatre.