<p>Self-referentiality plays an important, but often overlooked, role in the works of Richard Strauss. The broad category of self-reference includes works of metafiction, which literary critic Patricia Waugh has defined as fiction that &ldquo;self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality&rdquo; and &ldquo;explores the <i>theory </i> of writing fiction through the <i>practice</i> of writing fiction.&rdquo;¹ Additionally, Werner Wolf has conceptualized self-reference to include not only &ldquo;intra-systemic relationship(s),&rdquo; but also intertextual and intermedial references.² The relationships and references included in Wolf&rsquo;s conception of self-reference allow Strauss, his collaborators, and later interpreters to insert their own voices into operas and, arguably, even give themselves agency in the drama. This thesis examines this voice and agency in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of Strauss&rsquo;s aesthetics and those of his librettists and later interpreters with particular attention to three operas: <i>Ariadne auf Naxos</i> (the 1912 and 1916 versions), <i>Intermezzo</i> (1924), and <i> Capriccio</i> (1942). Additionally, I examine Christof Loy&rsquo;s 2011 production of <i>Die Frau ohne Schatten</i> (1919) as an example of complex layers self-reference added to a work by a later interpreter and as a suggestion for future avenues of research regarding operatic self-referentiality. </p><p> ¹Patricia Waugh, <i>Metafiction: The Theory and Practice of Self-Conscious Fiction</i> (London: Methuen &amp; Company, 1984), 2. ²Werner Wolf, preface to <i>Self-Reference in Literature and Music</i>, ed. Walter Bernhart and Werner Wolf (Amsterdam: Rudopi, 2010), vii.</p>

<p> Monody in musical dramatic presentations emanates from an early Baroque opera genesis and exists in multiple forms in the musical theater of today. By examining the Baroque characteristics of monody within the opera genre, a direct comparison between Monteverdi's opera <i>Orfeo</i> (1607) and Sch&ouml;nberg's musical <i>Les Miserables</i> (1985) can be established. This correlation becomes pronounced upon the exploration of four specific examples: through the implementation of recitative and aria, the interdependent use of duet and chorus with the solo voice, the innovative incorporation of atypical tonalities within the melodic line, and the inventive application of instrumentation to enhance vocal expression in each work. Just as Monteverdi designed his recitative to express the emotion of the libretto, so Sch&ouml;nberg composes dynamic, emotional songs to enhance the epic story of <i>Les Miserables.</i> Though composed centuries apart, both works employ similar melodic, rhythmic, harmonic and orchestral constructs, confirming a similar genesis.</p>

Ch. I. Grotius and Vondel chose the dramatic form for the embodiment of their Idea because drama had the widest appeal of those art-forms claiming the dual function of edification and Instruction. Ch.II (i) The account of the Fall in Genesis contains explicitly or implicitly all the elements required of a tragedy by the Humanist philologists interpretation of Aristotle and Horace. (ii) Senecan influence in Dutch drama is mainly attributable to the preference of Latin to Greek as the language used by the scholars end to the popularity of Seneca's rhetorical style andmoralising manner among those who inherited the Rederijkers' tradition. Ch. III. *ADAMUS EXUL* The play fails to achieve the balance necessary to form an integrated impression of tragedy because the predominant power and mood is of evil. Grotius fails to co-ordinate his art and scholarship. Ch.IV. "ADAM IN BALLINGSCHAP" (i) at the Literal Level. Its greatest achievement is its flawless structure in which the power of supernatural good and evil are perfectly balanced and reach a culminating point in the spiritual conflict of one man. (ii) the Theological Level. Vondel's views on the Cosmos, the soul and body, the mind, God in nature, obedience, free will and the Redemption are considered with reference to Grotius. (iii) the Symbolic Level. There are two important symbolic allegories to which most of the individual symbols contribute: God as the Sun and Light, Lucifer as Darkness; Adam as the Soul and Eve as the Body. Ch.V. "ADAM IN BALLINGSCHAP" is of all Vondel's drama the fullest externalisation of his spiritual life for in it are the red together all the aspects of virtue and sin expressed severally in his other plays. Conclusion. There can be no question of more than a superficial influence of Grotius' play on Vondel's.

Patriotic and civic spirit in the theatre in eighteenth century France cannot be understood properly unless related to the general trends of thought of that period. A brief examination of the ideas of several leading thinkers and then of the diffusion of the spirit of patriotism through the works of various secondary writers helps to illustrate the two-fold nature of patriotism in the eighteenth century: "old" or nationalistic and emotional, and "new" or civic and philosophic. An increasingly important civic and patriotic role was assigned to the theatre, especially after the middle of the century. Apparently technical reforms were often closely related to this role, for they involved making the theatre more interesting, more accessible, and thus more influential in the diffusion of ideas. "Old" patriotism was an important element in a large number of dramatic works beginning as early as 1730 but developing particularly after 1755. It manifested itself in works based on French historical subjects or characters, in works based on French military exploits, and in works based on anti-foreign sentiments or on a desire to depict the character of the French people. This patriotism was largely royalist and conservative. "New" patriotism which tended to be republican in spirit without necessarily explicitly advocating republicanism appeared in works which were based on a wide range of subjects, but which were mainly concerned with social and political questions like the nature and basis of government, the structure of French society, the importance and the relationship to civic and social responsibility of the qualities of sensibilite and bienfaisance, and the problems of religious tolerance and political liberty. The two-fold nature of French patriotism was reflected in the theatre, but, in view of the influence of the non-nationalistic ideas of the philosophes, nationalistic patriotism played a larger role in the theatre than might have been expected.

abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the question: what are the ways in which the texts An Actor Prepares (1936) by Constantin Stanislavski and Theatre of the Oppressed (1985) by Augusto Boal intersect with each other and diverge from each other such that in their intersection/divergence a new horizons of understanding may emerge? This question is important in the context of rethinking theatre education. The principle methodology of analysis used is what Shaun Gallagher (1992) terms a "moderate hermeneutics" in which the aim is a "dialogical conversation" leading to a "creative communication between the reader and the text" (p.10). The reason for undertaking a hermeneutical analysis of the two texts is that hermeneutics offers an approach in which the researcher may deeply analyze texts and therefore create new understandings and meanings from those texts. Through the use of hermeneutical analysis, the relationship between the writer and text, and a reader and text becomes a dialectical relationship. A "dialectical relationship" is a conversation between writer, reader and the text. This conversation leads to new interpretations. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2012

The thesis will consider the impact of German expressionist theatre in Britain and America in the period 1910 to 1940, concentrating on developments in writing, design, criticism and theatrical organisation. An introductory chapter will provide a resume of the major trends in European and American theatre in the period, leading to an examination of the detailed aspects of German Expressionism to be pursued in the following chapters. This will be followed by the two major sections of the thesis, dealing with the British and American theatrical scene respectively. The former will concentrate on the growth of the provincial theatre and its response to Expressionism, and on examples of the specialised interest in the style in some British theatres. The latter will concentrate on the genesis of the American literary theatre in groups such as the Washington Square Players, the Provincetown Players and the Theatre Guild, and will also concentrate on the extent to which an expressionist influence in stage design ran alongside the absorption of literary techniques. This will be followed by a consideration of the influence of Expressionism in the sphere of political theatre, through an examination mainly of the work of two groups, the American New Playwrights Theatre and the British Group Theatre. Generally the thesis will present an analysis of primary sources from the period, and will largely limit itself to a consideration of the effects of Expressionism within the stated countries and period, rather than extending to a consideration of developments after the Second World War or outside Britain and America.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the dramatic results of introducing women to replace boy-actors in female roles on the public stage. The impact of the actresses is examined in terms of both the general dramatic consequences of changing the sex of a performer from male to female and the individual influences of the various major actresses who emerged. The thesis begins with an investigation of the exploitation of the female physique in Restoration drama. It examines the treatment of breeches roles after 1660 and shows how sexual relationships in both comedy and tragedy could be substantially changed through the visual, physical dimension provided by real women. The ensuing chapters explore the way in which playwrights were influenced by the popular success of leading actresses in certain types of role and wrote plays around these women and their specialities. In particular, the genesis and development of she-tragedy, the gay couple, the prostitute-mistress figure and the pairing of contrasting female types is traced in relation to the actresses who made these conventions and characters popular. Thus the presence of a particular actress at a particular time may be seen to have crucially affected the course of the drama. The thesis also examines the impact of the actresses' own actual or reputed characters on the roles written for them. It seeks to ascertain the exact nature of the relationship between the leading actresses and their public and how far spectators' knowledge of the women's own personalities affected the type of roles they were given. The study concludes with a brief comment on the scope and general nature of the actresses' influence on Restoration drama.

When a play ends, the audience must make a complicated readjustment from their absorption in the enacted fiction to their return to real life. In Jacobean tragicomedy a double readjustment must be made. The last act of the play inverts the facts that the play-world seems to have established: the audience must adjust from one fiction to another, and then the play must return them altogether from fiction to their places in the theatre. The tragicomic dramatist must help the audience through this maze of fictions and back to the workaday world, and he does this by describing the play's genre and its fictional nature, by analysing its rhetoric, and by presenting images of play and masque, actors and audience. The tragicomedies of Marston, Beaumont and Fletcher and others seem to establish a special relationship with their audience. Play after play presents the audience, directly or indirectly, by means of induction, prologue and epilogue, or the play within the play. Final acts are especially rich in this kind of imagery as the author leads the audience out of the play. Jacobean tragicomedy was so popular in its own day because of the wide range of emotions it encompassed, and partly because of its double vision, its ability simultaneously to use and to parody its own rhetoric and conventions. Perhaps most important, it was popular because of this intimate relationship it established with its audience: the audience is used as a dramatic character. The plays of John Webster, tragedies as well as tragicomedies, seem to use particularly fruitfully the conventions of tragicomedy. The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi as well as The Devil's Law-case and A Cure for a Cuckold present burlesque of tragedy, use extensively the language of comedy, juxtapose the genres, and are sceptical about the rhetoric of tragedy. Especially important, the end of the play mediates for the audience between the fiction and the return to fact by images of acting and audience, descriptions of genre, and discussions of the nature of drama.

This study examines the work of English dramatists produced during a period widely regarded as an important renaissance after a long stagnation. An explanation of the actual dates chosen and the plays and playwrights represented appears in the Introduction (p 4). The study is divided into three main parts. Each part is then subdivided into a first chapter which traces the antecedents of the plays of our period in twentieth-century English, American and European drama, with a glance at relevant earlier work, and two more chapters which concentrate on the period itself. Part I deals with the relationship between the stage and the auditorium in terms which disregard the ephemeral physical circumstances of the first production in order to examine the visual and vocal relationships actually specified in the text, and traces development through representative examples. Part II examines the language itself, the use of words: the detailed analysis in this part necessitates a selection of representative examples from the work of each playwright, to show different usages. Part III examines each play in the light of the fundamental reason for its existence---its purpose---by dealing with the audience reaction which is called for by the text; the structure which governs this reaction; and the moral, religious, political or philosophical assumptions implicit or explicit in the plays.

The study investigates the development of theatre in England and France between 1815 and 1848, concentrating on a number of attempts to create a serious and poetic dramatic experience which reflected the artistic concerns of the time. It examines the general state of theatre and drama in London and Paris, and takes particular note of the reactions of one country's critics to the productions of the other. The central issue discussed is the idea of the natural, especially in terms of acting style and mise en scene. The study analyses some of the efforts of authors and producers to reconcile the demands and potential of Romantic dramaturgy with the expectations of the audience. The crucial problem may be described, in Bulwer Lytton's terms, as the attempt to fuse the simple and the magnificent, or, alternatively, the natural and the theatrical. The study outlines the organization, repertory, mise en scene and acting style in England and France at the start of the period (Chapters 1 and 2). It discusses the difficulties confronting the English Romantics as potential dramatists, with particular attention to Marino Faliero (Chapter 3). Chapter 4 describes the 1827-28 visit to Paris of the The&acirc;tre-Anglais, specifically the impact of Shakespeare productions upon French critical consciousness. The effect of that impact is discussed with reference to selected productions of French Romantic drama (Chapter 5). Chapter 6 outlines the incidence and influence of French theatrical practice in London, emphasising the natural acting style of the comediens and the high quality of mise en scene. Chapter 7 describes the growth in England of the idea of the unified production, and assesses the importance of Macready as a producer. In Chapter 8, the difficulty of achieving a satisfactory balance between the style of acting and the increasinglyelaborate physical context is examined, and it is argued that the idea of the natural was more capable of realisation in musical drama, especially ballet.