Apollo in Early Opera
Adapting His Multiple Ancient Cultic Functions to a Secular Renaissance Pantheon
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22029751 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Judith Solomon (0000-0002-1232-4761, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 193-215 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Greek and Roman Musical Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2212-974X • E-ISSN: 2212-9758 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/22129758-bja10093 |
| OpenAlex | W4408850769 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
Apollo’s ancient origins resulted in a variety of cultic functions and mythological associations. As the Greco-Roman god of music, it was as if Apollo played a symbolic role in overseeing the development of late-Renaissance/early Baroque musical theater. His multiple cultic functions and associated mythological narratives enabled librettists to portray him on stage as not just the god of music and father of Orpheus, but also as the lover of Daphne, the slayer of the Python, the god of prophecy, the sun god, or a symbol of Neoplatonic Virtue or Christ. Not restricted to ancient narratives, librettists also made Apollo the parent or ancestor of newly invented characters, and, in addition to including him in Olympian ensembles, placed him even in underworld scenes. But the importance and frequency of his roles diminished by the final third of the seventeenth century, and he has made only rare appearances since
Ancestor · Apollo · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Baroque · Centaur · Literature · Musical · Mythology · Narrative · Opera · The Renaissance · Classics · Early Modern Spanish Literature · History · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Philosophy · Theater, Performance, and Music History
A Companion to Ancient Greek and Roman Music
Mythology and the Renaissance Tradition in English Poetry
The Origins of Democracy in Tribes, City-States and Nation-States
Classical sources and thematic structure in the Florentine intermedi of 1589
Glorious Apollo
The Classical Epic Tradition
Mythology and the Renaissance Tradition in English Poetry
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |