Great Operas

Author: Michael Steen
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1848314604
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 904

Book Description
With four famous operas each from Mozart, Verdi and Puccini, and two each from Rossini and Donizetti, there is a feast of information. Here are short guides to The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni; to the splendour of Aïda, the heart-breaking La Traviata; the drama of Tosca. The range is very broad. There is Wagner's great love story Tristan und Isolde; there is Johann Strauss's light comedy Die Fledermaus. On the way you can be briefed about such favourites as Handel's Giulio Cesare, Bizet's Carmen, Gounod's Faust, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Britten's Peter Grimes. With plot summaries, composer biographies, observations on musical points of interest and background on the historical and cultural context of each opera, every one of these guides will enhance your appreciation and enjoyment and help you discuss the work and the performance with your fellow opera-goers. Steen shares his expert knowledge with a lightness of touch that makes each guide a pleasure to read. Witty, informative and beautifully presented, Great Operas is an indispensable reference guide for both seasoned opera-goers and those enjoying opera for the first time.

100 Great Operas And Their Stories

Author: Henry W. Simon
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385054483
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 562

Book Description
An invaluable guide for both casual opera fans and aficionados, 100 Great Operas is perhaps the most comprehensive and enjoyable volume of opera stories ever written. From La Traviata to Aïda, from Carmen to Don Giovanni, here are the plots of the world’s best-loved operas, told in an engaging, picturesque, and readable manner. Written by noted opera authority Henry W. Simon, this distinctive reference book contains act-by-act descriptions of 100 operatic works ranging from the historic early seventeenth century masterpieces of Monteverdi to the modern classics of Gian-Carlo Menotti. In addition to highlighting the most important aspects of each opera, the author discusses the main characters, the famous turnings of plot, and the most significant arias. Here, too, is a wealth of anecdotes concerning literary background, past performances and stars, and production problems of the great operas.

100 Great Operas and Their Stories

Author: Henry W. Simon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description

The Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas

Author: John W. Freeman
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393040517
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 504

Book Description
Contains the plots of 150 of the world's most popular operas, short biographies of the 72 composers represented, plus background material pertinent to each work.

The Great Operas of Vincenzo Bellini - An Account of the Life and Work of this Distinguished Composer, with Particular Attention to his Operas

Author: Gustav Kobbé
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1528767284
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 22

Book Description
“The Great Operas of Vincenzo Bellini” is a detailed account of the life and work of Vincenzo Bellini by Gustav Kobbé, with a particular focus on his operatic compositions. Vincenzo Bellini (1801 – 1835) was an famous Italian opera composer. Notable operas by this composer include: “Adelson e Salvini” (1825), “Bianca e Gernando” (1826), and “II Pirata” (1827). This vintage volume is highly recommended for opera lovers and is not to be missed by those with an interest in the life and work of one of it's greatest figures. Gustav Kobbé (1857 – 1918) was an American author and music critic famous for his guide to the operas, “The Complete Opera Book”, (1919). Other notable works by this author include: “The Ring of the Nibelung” (1887), “Wagner's Life and Works” (1890), and “New York and its Environs” (1891). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on the history of the theatre.

Great Opera Arias and Themes for Solo Piano

Author: Carolinda Carlson
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 048649280X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 146

Book Description
This original transcription of popular opera melodies for solo piano features 50 pieces, comprising about half of the current performance repertoire and representing nearly all of the major composers.

Opera 101

Author: Fred Plotkin
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 520

Book Description
Written by an opera insider and featuring an introduction by Placido Domingo, here is a thorough, friendly, and truly complete guide to learning how to love and appreciate the opera. After a brief history of opera, the book includes a guide to operatic terms, a minute-by-minute listener's guide to 11 central works, a list of recommended books and recordings and much more.

Great Opera Stories

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Children's literature
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Book Description

Great Operatic Disasters

Author: Hugh Vickers
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312346348
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 112

Book Description
To its devotees, opera is the most sublime of arts. It is also one of the most accident prone, and when things go wrong, they tend to do so on a grand scale. Great Operatic Disasters records some of the most memorable calamities from opera houses around the world. Most of them are true, some have been embroidered over the years, and a few, well, se non e vero, e ben trovato.

Nine Famous Operas

Author: Iris J. Arnesen
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786460067
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 205

Book Description
This book contains analyses of the stories and music of nine operas, presented in chronological order from 1791 to 1928. These great works are most readily approached with an understanding of the conventions of the several operatic genres as well as the social conditions that influenced the composers and librettists. The popular and intellectual movements that influenced the operas and the original source material are also discussed. The operas are Mozart's The Magic Flute, Beethoven's Fidelio, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Verdi's Rigoletto, Bizet's Carmen, Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Strauss' Salome, and Brecht's The Threepenny Opera.