Chapter
Suicide in the Opera (IN: Suicide and the Creative Arts, edited by S Stack & D Lester)
Vaughn B~~Lester D
This chapter examines representative examples of suicide in the operatic genre. One of the findings is that the majority of suicides are by women, unlike real life where men die by suicide far more frequently than women. Female suicides appear in at least three situations – unrequited love &/or intense rejection, a lover’s seemingly hopeless situation, & allowing herself to die. Numerous questions for future research are posed. (7 refs.)