Opera and Nationalism – book presentation

The Theater Collection of National Széchényi Library cordially invites you and your friends to the presentation ceremony of a book by Krisztina Lajosi entitled Staging the Nation. Opera and Nationalism in 19th-Century Hungary, published in 2018 (Leiden–Boston: Brill).

The book presentation discussion will start at 17.00 on Wednesday February 6, 2019 in the Boardroom, on Floor 5 of NSZL.

The author will be presented by theater historian Ildikó Sirató, Head of the Theater Collection of National Széchényi Library. Participants of the discussion on the book will be music historian Katalin Kim, music historian Péter Bozó and theater historian Zoltán Imre.

Blurb of the book:

Opera was a prominent political forum and a potent force for nineteenth-century nationalism. As one of the most popular forms of entertainment, opera could mobilize large crowds and became the locus of ideological debates about nation-building. Despite its crucial role in national movements, opera has received little attention in the context of nationalism. In Staging the Nation: Opera and Nationalism in 19th-Century Hungary, Krisztina Lajosi examines the development of Hungarian national thought by exploring the theatrical and operatic practices that have shaped historical consciousness. Lajosi combines cultural history, political thought, and the history of music theater, and highlights the role of the opera composer Ferenc Erkel (1810-1893) in institutionalizing national opera and turning opera-loving audiences into a national public.