Although the opera fantasy as a genre has been condemned as showing off, frivolous, or a simple potpourri, Liszt as a fantasy composer is often protected from such denigration, primarily because of his dramatic integrity. Reiterating this claim, however, the existing studies tend to confine their scope to the analysis of representative styles of Liszt’s major oeuvres. Instead, my article situates his fantasies within the broader context of contemporary criticism on the genre. By doing so, I propose several types of “anxiety” underlying criticism of the genre, including anxiety about becoming a composer over a performer, anxiety about formal constraint, and anxiety about ideas and contents. Such anxieties help to set the stage for Liszt’s strategic responses to the criticism in writing his own fantasies. The case of his Norma fantasy then demonstrates how he achieves formal coherence and solidity, holistic effects beyond a simple pleasing melody, and dramatic unity and re-reading, ultimately shedding light on his composer-mindset as opposed to the mere virtuoso display normally associated with the fantasy genre.
Although the opera fantasy as a genre has been condemned as showing off, frivolous, or a simple potpourri, Liszt as a fantasy composer is often protected from such denigration, primarily because of his dramatic integrity. Reiterating this claim, however, the existing studies tend to confine their scope to the analysis of representative styles of Liszt’s major oeuvres. Instead, my article situates his fantasies within the broader context of contemporary criticism on the genre. By doing so, I propose several types of “anxiety” underlying criticism of the genre, including anxiety about becoming a composer over a performer, anxiety about formal constraint, and anxiety about ideas and contents. Such anxieties help to set the stage for Liszt’s strategic responses to the criticism in writing his own fantasies. The case of his Norma fantasy then demonstrates how he achieves formal coherence and solidity, holistic effects beyond a simple pleasing melody, and dramatic unity and re-reading, ultimately shedding light on his composer-mindset as opposed to the mere virtuoso display normally associated with the fantasy genre.
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