Product Description

"Packed into every page of this book is the excitement of discovery, knowledge, taste and visual beauty. It all gives the reader the illusion of being at an actual performance." Placido Domingo "Opera is a beautiful guide for opera enthusiasts as well as the perfect welcome for converts to this ancient rite. It offers today's and tomorrow's audiences a delightful "navigation system" along an avenue that leads from Monteverdi to Bob Wilson." Stéphane Lissner, Director of the Teatro alla Scala Essential reading – whether you are a seasoned opera goer looking for a quick brush-up before a performance, or new to the genre and wanting to know more. From Baroque to Italian, from Vivaldi to Debussy explore 400 years of music drama from late-Renaissance Italy to works from contemporary names including Philip Glass and Thomas Adès. Discover hundreds of classic and modern opera interpretations, learn about the lives of operatic masters, from Monteverdi to Adams plus, read act-by-act synopses of more than 160 operas from Madama Butterfly and Tosca to Candide and The Maid of Pskov which signpost the highlights of each opera and help you follow the story-line and identify characters. Eyewitness Companions Opera – music for your ears and eyes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90867 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Review
"An illustrated, easy-to-use guide, with handy plot summaries" Publishing News 09/06/06

Placido Domingo
"Packed into every page of this book is the excitement of
discovery, knowledge, taste and visual beauty. It all gives the reader the
illusion of being at an actual performance."

Stephane Lissner, Director of the Teatro alla Scala Stephane Lissner, Director of the Teatro alla Scala
""Opera" is a beautiful guide for opera enthusiasts as well as the
perfect welcome for converts to this ancient rite. It offers today's and
tomorrow's audiences a delightful "navigation system" along an avenue that
leads from Monteverdi to Bob Wilson."

Customer Reviews

A great book for both beginners and enthusiasts of opera

This is one of many titles in the Eyewitness Companions series, and just like its close relation `Eyewitness Companion, Classical Music', is a thoroughly readable book presented in terms which can be easily understood by the opera novice, but with ample depth of content to appeal to the seasoned opera goer.

Described as hardcover means it's somewhere between paperback and hardback (likewise all in the Eyewitness series), and the front cover boasts the endorsement of `recommended by Classic FM'. The pages are extensively illustrated with photos of performers on stage, pictures and background information on each of the composers, and a description and synopsis of each opera.

The book succeeds in dispelling the mystique and elitism which often frustratingly and unnecessarily surrounds opera, and the subject is explained in a manner which is both interesting and informative. No better illustration of this down-to-earth approach is in the books first chapter which describes opera as a form of entertainment which is `accompanied by an orchestra, with scenery, costumes, and light adding drama, and singers telling a story'. This simplicity and directness continues throughout the book.

The subjects are:

INTODUCING OPERA (35 pages), including a description of opera, how it is staged, the history of opera houses, the great idols and stars.

MONTEVERDI TO MOZART 1600 - 1800 (73 pages), covering Monteverdi, Cavalli,Lully, Charpentier, Purcell,Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Rameau, Handel, Cesare, Gluck, and Mozart.

ITALIAN OPERA 1800 - 1925 (79 pages), including all the famous Italians, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Mascagni, Verdi, Puccini and more.

GERMANIC OPERA 1800 - 1950 (57 pages), the big names in this section are Beethoven, Weber, Wagner, Strauss (Johann jnr), Lehar, Strauss (Richard), and Humperdink (the original Engelbert, not his namesake `Please Release Me'!)

FRENCH OPERA 1990 - 1900 (45 pages), familier names such as Cherubini, Meyerbeer, Berlioz, Gounod, Offenbach, Bizet, Massenet, Charpentier and Debussy.

RUSSIAN OPERA 1830 - 1960 (33 pages), Glinka, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.

CZECH OPERA 1860 - 1940 (19 pages) with names such as Smetana, Dvorak, Janacek and Martinu

MODERN OPERA 1900 - to date (63 pages), the final section covers the 20th Century artists such as Gershwin, Schoenberg, Bartok, Orff, Poulenc, Britten and Adams.

I found this an extremely interesting and readable book, and a perfect partner to the `Classical Music' guide in the same series.

Great gift
Got it myself as a present and love it! I have so far bought 3 copies of the book to give as presents to opera buffs!

Invaluable for lovers of Opera
Classical Music (Eyewitness Companions)For Classical Music Lovers who want to know more about operas than just listening to
the music and knowing the story. This book contains so much more - the composers, history etc, it is a mine of valuable information and a 'must have volume'.