Musical Offerings ⦁ 2025 ⦁ Volume 16 ⦁ Number 1 5 untraditional ascension to power when this was highly unlikely.22 Because of potential assumptions, the application of art made by the public is not altogether true to the artist’s intent; but it is important to consider. With this understanding, coming to a firm conclusion regarding politics in opera becomes more complicated. In addition, the motivation of composers to involve politics in their works is a necessary consideration. Personal prejudices aside, there were professional incentives that influenced the political facet of opera. The British crown was highly influential in the commercialization of opera through the establishment and management of the Royal Academy of Music. Comparable to every composer of the day, Handel’s livelihood was provided through patrons; and the institution of the Royal Academy meant that this patronage came from the royal family.23 With this in mind, the motivation of an income was a major factor and played a role in the operas that were being written. Furthermore, composers did not write with short-term success in mind. They desired their operas to advance their career. This meant that artform itself took precedence and propaganda was secondary. There was a delicate balance between creating a long-living masterpiece and clueing the audience in on the work's relevance to current events. Besides fame and success, composers also had to consider the risk of being censored although they were allowed a degree of freedom to express controversial ideas.24 The right to cancel any performance, opera or otherwise, lay in the hands of the monarchy.25 However, the crown mostly refrained from enforcing its power in this area unless the subject matter was personally offensive to the royal family or the public’s response was especially undesirable.26 The discussion of the methods and motivations involved in the writing of opera in England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, provides a rubric for how to analyze the existence and influence of politics in opera. There are, however, several hindrances to absolutely proving that British politics played into opera specifically during this time. The first is found in the previous examination of the composer’s intention and the audience's application. Since both are highly subjective, the possibility of political messages can be inferred but not proven. The argument has 22 Hume, 30–31. 23 McGeary, The Politics of Opera, 62. 24 Hume, 24. 25 McGeary, The Politics of Opera, 63. 26 Hume, 24.
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