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The Ecstasy of Lament: Opera as a Model of Theology

Opera is often perceived as an elitist genre of music, admired by snobbish traditionalists and greatly suspected by radical feminists. By viewing opera as an innovative avenue for lament over tragic and sinful human reality long before any formal feminist critique, the essay examines the creative role of opera as a mode of encouragement for a different Theologia Primaworship in music as otherwise than intellectually satisfying certain theological assumptions. The risky speech of operatic lament as inverted ecstatic praise of the triune God affirms the relevance of critical attention toward the praise of God that, deprived of lament, risks becoming an inauthentic and vacuous worship.