Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #125270 in Books
• Published on: 1989-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Customer Reviews

Opera. Plain, Simple and Easy to Understand
100 Great Operas and Their Stories greatest virtue is the number of things it doesn't contain. Among the missing: a list of great preformances, a list of opera singer who have performed the rolls, the usually rating system, and of course the almost obligatory rating/list of available CDs. It contains exactly what its title says -- the stories of the great operas. A list of the cast, a very short background history and the story of the opera act by act. The experienced opera goers can refresh themselves in a few minutes. The novice can find out what its all about in the same time. Also, you can slip the book into your pocket and take it along to the opera for a quick revue before the overture begins.

Very insightful, very helpful, and well written
A great collection of the 100 most beloved operas. Very helpful for any aspiring opera singer, such as myself, to dig up interesting information about the background of the opera, the plot, where and when the arias take place, and many interesting factoids about the origin of the librettos and the circumstances under which the composer chose to write the opera. An absolute must-have for an opera lover!!!

Almost 100%
A very fine collection of summaries, a realy fine book, which lives up to its title.
I bought this as gift for a newcomer to opera for whom it has been a tremendous success. I feel it has just the right amount of detail and provides a balanced critique where necessary.
All in all a very very good book which I thoroughly recommend. It is certainly more accessible than many other similar volumes, not being burdened with endless reviews of past performances and recordings.
So why only 4 stars?
Well there are only 100 operas and inevitably the one story line you want to check up on is missing. Also the contents is arranged in slightly quirky manner and the book suffers from the lack of an index or system of cross referencing.
However, don't let these minor criticisms put you off. It is probably still the best buy amongst the available titles.