A History of Opera

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Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393089533
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of Opera by : Carolyn Abbate

Download or read book A History of Opera written by Carolyn Abbate and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The best single volume ever written on the subject, such is its range, authority, and readability.”—Times Literary Supplement Why has opera transfixed and fascinated audiences for centuries? Carolyn Abbate and Roger Parker answer this question in their “effervescent, witty” (Die Welt, Germany) retelling of the history of opera, examining its development, the musical and dramatic means by which it communicates, and its role in society. Now with an expanded examination of opera as an institution in the twenty-first century, this “lucid and sweeping” (Boston Globe) narrative explores the tensions that have sustained opera over four hundred years: between words and music, character and singer, inattention and absorption. Abbate and Parker argue that, though the genre’s most popular and enduring works were almost all written in a distant European past, opera continues to change the viewer— physically, emotionally, intellectually—with its enduring power.

Opera 101

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Publisher : Hachette Books
ISBN 13 : 1401306004
Total Pages : 444 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis Opera 101 by : Fred Plotkin

Download or read book Opera 101 written by Fred Plotkin and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2013-07-16 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opera is the fastest growing of all the performing arts, attracting audiences of all ages who are enthralled by the gorgeous music, vivid drama, and magnificent production values. If you've decided that the time has finally come to learn about opera and discover for yourself what it is about opera that sends your normally reserved friends into states of ecstatic abandon, this is the book for you. Opera 101 is recognized as the standard text in English for anyone who wants to become an opera lover--a clear, friendly, and truly complete handbook to learning how to listen to opera, whether on the radio, on recordings, or live at the opera house. Fred Plotkin, an internationally respected writer and teacher about opera who for many years was performance manager of the Metropolitan Opera, introduces the reader (whatever his or her level of musical knowledge) to all the elements that make up opera, including: A brief, entertaining history of opera; An explanation of key operatic concepts, from vocal types to musical conventions; Hints on the best way to approach the first opera you attend and how to best understand what is happening both offstage and on; Lists of recommended books and recordings, and the most complete traveler's guide to opera houses around the world. The major part of Opera 101 is devoted to an almost minute-by-minute analysis of eleven key operas, ranging from Verdi's thunderous masterpiece Rigoletto and Puccini's electrifying Tosca through works by Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, to the psychological complexities of Richard Strauss's Elektra. Once you have completed Opera 101, you will be prepared to see and hear any opera you encounter, thanks to this book's unprecedentedly detailed and enjoyable method of revealing the riches of opera.

The History of Opera For Beginners

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Author :
Publisher : Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN 13 : 1934389803
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (343 download)

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Book Synopsis The History of Opera For Beginners by : Ron David

Download or read book The History of Opera For Beginners written by Ron David and published by Red Wheel/Weiser. This book was released on 2013-11-26 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The History of Opera For Beginners is a humorous, little book which starts with the radical assumption that Opera is just plain old music, rather than the highbrow, inaccessible music that everyone assumes it to be. The reader will learn the difference between Italian and German Opera and why you don’t have to study a new language to enjoy Opera. The History of Opera For Beginners is an ideal introduction for people who are convinced that opera is solely for those refined few who were born listening to arias. Written in short, humorous, and informative chapters, and laced with some of the opera world's juiciest anecdotes, this guide is sure to convert even the most ambivalent of music lovers.

Opera: The Basics

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136088024
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (36 download)

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Book Synopsis Opera: The Basics by : Denise Gallo

Download or read book Opera: The Basics written by Denise Gallo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opera: The Basics offers an excellent introduction to four centuries of opera. Its easy to follow sections explore topics including: the origins of opera basic terminology the history of major opera genres including: serious opera, comic opera, semi-serious opera and vernacular opera. With key notes, discography and videography, this is the ideal book for students and interested listeners who want to learn more about this important musical genre.

Opera a to Z

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780985424831
Total Pages : 60 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Opera a to Z by : Liddy Lindsay

Download or read book Opera a to Z written by Liddy Lindsay and published by . This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opera A to Z: A Beginner's Guide to Opera is an overview of the most famous operas and opera characters of all time; one for each letter of the alphabet. The book was written with children ages eight to twelve in mind, but it is sure to delight young and old alike with its engaging summaries of twenty-six renowned operas. The book is based on a 27 x 40 watercolor that took author and illustrator Liddy Lindsay two years to complete and has become a bestseller as notecards and Gicle prints at The Met Opera Shop in New York.

Opera 101

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Author :
Publisher : Hyperion
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 520 pages
Book Rating : 4.X/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Opera 101 by : Fred Plotkin

Download or read book Opera 101 written by Fred Plotkin and published by Hyperion. This book was released on 1994-12 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

The Song of the Lark

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 506 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis The Song of the Lark by : Willa Cather

Download or read book The Song of the Lark written by Willa Cather and published by . This book was released on 1916 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A novelist and short-story writer, Willa Cather is today widely regarded as one of the foremost American authors of the twentieth century. Particularly renowned for the memorable women she created for such works as My Antonia and O Pioneers!, she pens the portrait of another formidable character in The Song of the Lark. This, her third novel, traces the struggle of the woman as artist in an era when a woman's role was far more rigidly defined than it is today. The prototype for the main character as a child and adolescent was Cather herself, while a leading Wagnerian soprano at the Metropolitan Opera (Olive Fremstad) became the model for Thea Kronborg, the singer who defies the limitations placed on women of her time and social station to become an international opera star. A coming-of-age-novel, important for the issues of gender and class that it explores, The Song of the Lark is one of Cather's most popular and lyrical works. Book jacket.

Opera For Dummies

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Author :
Publisher : For Dummies
ISBN 13 : 9780764550102
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (51 download)

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Book Synopsis Opera For Dummies by : David Pogue

Download or read book Opera For Dummies written by David Pogue and published by For Dummies. This book was released on 1997-09-04 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Pogue is a wonderful teacher… He can teach anybody.” — Gay Talese, bestselling author of Honor Thy Father “Scott Speck is a great communicator of classical music…. Concert audiences and readers alike can’t help getting caught up in the joy of his subject.” — David Styers, American Symphony Orchestra League Opera is weird. Everybody wears makeup and sings all the time. Even when they’re singing your language, which is rare, you still can’t understand the words. Women play men, men play women, and 45-year-olds play teenagers. All the main characters seem to get killed off. And when somebody dies, he takes ten minutes to sing about it. Yet, for all its weirdness, an operatic experience is an experience in breathtaking beauty. When you hear a soprano float a soft high C, or a tenor singing a love song, or a full-throated chorus in the climax of a scene’s dramatic finale, you can’t help getting goosebumps. Want to experience all that beauty for yourself, but don’t know where to begin? Opera For Dummies is an excellent place to start. Written by an acclaimed conductor and a musical director, this friendly guide tells you what you need to know to: Understand opera from the Baroque and Roman periods through today Interpret characters, orchestra, chorus, and other players Understand what’s happening, both on stage and off Choose the best seats Identify famous operas Build a great collection of opera recordings Locate opera sites and chat groups online Whether you’re interested in attending a live opera, want to build a collection of recordings, or just want to be able to talk about opera intelligently, Opera For Dummies is for you. Among other things, you’ll explore: The words, the music, and the people who sing it The history of opera and the lives of the great composers Going to the opera — including tips for getting tickets, preparing for the opera, dressing for the opera, and more Musical and theatrical conventions used in opera In-depth synopses of the world’s most beloved operas On the bonus CD you’ll find: More than 60 minutes of music compiled especially for the book A multimedia piece for PC or MAC Wonder what it is about opera that can make a grown person cry like a baby? Find out in Opera For Dummies.

A Night at the Opera

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Author :
Publisher : Modern Library
ISBN 13 : 0307807827
Total Pages : 980 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (78 download)

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Book Synopsis A Night at the Opera by : Sir Denis Forman

Download or read book A Night at the Opera written by Sir Denis Forman and published by Modern Library. This book was released on 2011-10-05 with total page 980 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Delightful and anti-reverential”—Sunday Times (London) With an encyclopedic knowledge of opera and a delightful dash of irreverence, Sir Denis Forman throws open the world of opera—its structure, composers, conductors, and artists—in this hugely informative guide. A Night at the Opera dissects the eighty-three most popular operas recorded on compact disc, from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur to Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. For each opera, Sir Denis details the plot and cast of characters, awarding stars to parts that are “worth looking out for,” “really good,” or, occasionally, “stunning.” He goes on to tell the history of each opera and its early reception. Finally, each work is graded from alpha to gamma (although the Ring cycle gets an “X”), and Sir Denis has no qualms about voicing his opinion: the first act of Fidelio is “a bit of a mess,” while the last scene of Don Giovanni “towers above the comic finales of Figaro and Così and whether or not [it] is Mozart's greatest opera, it is certainly his most powerful finale.” The guide also presents brief biographies of the great composers, conductors, and singers. A glossary of musical terms is included, as well as Operatica, or the essential elements of opera, from the proper place and style of the audience's applause (and boos) to the use of subtitles. A Night at the Opera is for connoisseurs and neophytes alike. It will entertain and inform, delight and (perhaps) infuriate, providing a subject for lively debate and ready reference for years to come.

Ticket to the Opera

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Author :
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 0449005666
Total Pages : 721 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (49 download)

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Book Synopsis Ticket to the Opera by : Phil G. Goulding

Download or read book Ticket to the Opera written by Phil G. Goulding and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 1999-08-31 with total page 721 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ticket to the Opera, Phil G. Goulding finally makes the magic and mystique of opera accessible to all. Here he offers a complete operatic education, including history, definitions of key musical terms, opera lore and gossip, portraits of famous singers and the roles they immortalized, as well as pithy introductions to the greatest operas of Europe and America and their composers. The book's centerpiece is what Goulding terms "the collection"--85 classics, among them Aida, The Marriage of Figaro, Carmen, and Madama Butterfly, that have been packing the world's opera houses for years. This entertaining, meticulously researched book also includes a fascinating chapter on American opera from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess to Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach and a discussion of the gems of twentieth-century opera featuring works like Leos Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen, Alban Berg's Lulu, and Serge Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges. Whether you're a curious neophyte, a music lover interested in branching out, or an aficionado eager to compare notes with a brilliant fellow opera buff, you'll prize Ticket to the Opera as an essential volume in your music library.

Opera

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 9780195116380
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (163 download)

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Book Synopsis Opera by : Piero Weiss

Download or read book Opera written by Piero Weiss and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Opera: A History in Documents, Piero Weiss presents a wide-ranging, vivid, and carefully researched tour of operatic history. A unique anthology of primary source material, this survey includes 115 chronologically organized selections--passages from private letters, public decrees, descriptions of first performances, portions of libretti, literary criticism and satire, newspaper reviews and articles, and poetry and fiction--from opera's late Renaissance infancy through modern times. This first-hand testimony allows students to experience the history of opera as eyewitnesses, offering an immediacy and validity unmatched by standard histories. Readers are transported to a Medici wedding in sixteenth-century Florence, to the Haymarket Theatre for a performance of Handel's Rinaldo, to Mozart at work on Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and to Bertolt Brecht's writing desk, among many other landmarks in opera's history. Weiss expertly guides students, providing highly accessible headnotes to each selection that both contextualize the excerpts and position them within the broader historical narrative. In addition, he offers original translations of more than half of the selections in the book, many of which appear here in English for the first time. Stage settings, costumes, portraits, contemporary playbills, and other illustrations enliven the text and help to recreate the feel of the era under discussion. Opera: A History in Documents is an intrinsically lively text that will enrich college courses on opera and delight any music-loving reader.

Understanding Italian Opera

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190247967
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Understanding Italian Opera by : Tim Carter

Download or read book Understanding Italian Opera written by Tim Carter and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-09-16 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opera is often regarded as the pinnacle of high art. A "Western" genre with global reach, it is where music and drama come together in unique ways, supported by stellar singers and spectacular scenic effects. Yet it is also patently absurd -- why should anyone break into song on the dramatic stage? -- and shrouded in mystique. In this engaging and entertaining guide, renowned music scholar Tim Carter unravels its many layers to offer a thorough introduction to Italian opera from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. Eschewing the technical musical detail that all too often dominates writing on opera, Carter begins instead where the composers themselves did: with the text. Walking readers through the relationship between music and poetry that lies at the heart of any opera, Carter then offers explorations of five of the most enduring and emblematic Italian operas: Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea; Handel's Julius Caesar in Egypt; Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro; Verdi's Rigoletto; and Puccini's La Bohème. Shedding light on the creative collusions and collisions involved in bringing opera to the stage, the various, and varying, demands of the text and music, and the nature of its musical drama, Carter also shows how Italian opera has developed over the course of music history. Complete with synopses, cast lists, and suggested further reading for each work discussed, Understanding Italian Opera is a must-read for anyone with an interest in and love for this glorious art.

The Golden Age of Opera

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Author :
Publisher : Holt McDougal
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Golden Age of Opera by : Robert Tuggle

Download or read book The Golden Age of Opera written by Robert Tuggle and published by Holt McDougal. This book was released on 1983 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 9780192854452
Total Pages : 618 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (544 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera by : Roger Parker

Download or read book The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera written by Roger Parker and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2001 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A historical survey of opera, from its beginnings in Florence 400 years ago, up to opera in the 1990s.

The Politics of Opera

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Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691211515
Total Pages : 510 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis The Politics of Opera by : Mitchell Cohen

Download or read book The Politics of Opera written by Mitchell Cohen and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-08 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wide-ranging look at the interplay of opera and political ideas through the centuries The Politics of Opera takes readers on a fascinating journey into the entwined development of opera and politics, from the Renaissance through the turn of the nineteenth century. What political backdrops have shaped opera? How has opera conveyed the political ideas of its times? Delving into European history and thought and music by such greats as Monteverdi, Lully, Rameau, and Mozart, Mitchell Cohen reveals how politics—through story lines, symbols, harmonies, and musical motifs—has played an operatic role both robust and sotto voce. This is an engrossing book that will interest all who love opera and are intrigued by politics.

Opera in America

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780300061017
Total Pages : 611 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (61 download)

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Book Synopsis Opera in America by : John Dizikes

Download or read book Opera in America written by John Dizikes and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 611 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text tells how opera, steeped in European aristocratic tradition, was transplanted into the democratic cultural enviroment of America. It includes vignettes of productions, personalities, audiences and theatres throughout the country from 1735 to the present day.

A Short History of Opera

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Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231119585
Total Pages : 1049 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (311 download)

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Book Synopsis A Short History of Opera by : Donald Jay Grout

Download or read book A Short History of Opera written by Donald Jay Grout and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 1049 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The fourth edition incorporates new scholarship that traces the most important developments in the evolution of musical drama. After surveying anticipations of the operatic form in the lyric theater of the Greeks, medieval dramatic music, and other forerunners, the book reveals the genre's beginnings in the seventeenth century and follows its progress to the present day."--Jacket.