Download or read book Weep Shudder Die On Opera and Poetry written by Dana Gioia and published by Paul Dry Books. This book was released on 2024-12-03 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Looking at opera from the standpoint of its texts, as only a gifted poet and librettist can do, Dana Gioia examines why a surprisingly small number of operas have attained a secure place in the repertory. His insight into the workings of this uniquely lyrical fusion of the arts makes Weep, Shudder, Die not only a definitive assessment of the importance of poetry to the operatic undertaking, but a gift to opera lovers everywhere. Read…Reflect…Delight!" —Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Listener’s Encyclopedia of Classical Music “Weep, Shudder, Die should be read by anyone who enjoys opera, or who cares about its place in today's world. Dana Gioia explores, with imagination and insight, the relationship between the libretto and the music. I learned a great deal in reading it, and at the same time enjoyed the experience immensely.” —Henry Fogel, Former President, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and League of American Orchestras A unique book about opera—personal, impassioned, and provocative. Weep, Shudder, Die explores opera from the perspective by which the art was originally created, as the most intense form of poetic drama. The great operas have an essential connection to poetry, song, and the primal power of the human voice. The aim of opera is irrational enchantment, the unleashing of emotions and visionary imagination. Gioia rejects the conventional view of opera which assumes that great operas can be built on execrable texts. He insists that in opera, words matter. Operas begin as words; strong words inspire composers, weak words burden them. Ultimately, singers embody the words to give the music a human form for the audience. Weep, Shudder, Die is a poet’s book about opera. To some, that statement will suggest writing that is airy, impressionistic, and unreliable, but a poet also brings a practical sense of how words animate opera, lend life to imaginary characters, and give human shape to music. Written from a lifelong devotion to the art, Gioia’s book is for anyone who has wept in the dark of an opera house.
Download or read book A Mad Love written by Vivien Schweitzer and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lively introduction to opera, from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century There are few art forms as visceral and emotional as opera -- and few that are as daunting for newcomers. A Mad Love offers a spirited and indispensable tour of opera's eclectic past and present, beginning with Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in 1607, generally considered the first successful opera, through classics like Carmen and La Boheme, and spanning to Brokeback Mountain and The Death of Klinghoffer in recent years. Musician and critic Vivien Schweitzer acquaints readers with the genre's most important composers and some of its most influential performers, recounts its long-standing debates, and explains its essential terminology. Today, opera is everywhere, from the historic houses of major opera companies to movie theaters and public parks to offbeat performance spaces and our earbuds. A Mad Love is an essential book for anyone who wants to appreciate this living, evolving art form in all its richness.
Download or read book The Great Lablache written by Clarissa Lablache Cheer and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2009-07-29 with total page 723 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Golden Age of Italian opera, Luigi Lablache triumphed as one of the most admired and accomplished international superstars. Born in Naples in 1795, his unprecedented forty-five year singing career dominated the glorious bel canto period when opera flourished as the principal form of entertainment. Now his direct descendant, Clarissa Lablache Cheer, puts forth this remarkable and long overdue biography of Lablache – the first ever to be written in English. Page by page, Lablache’s extraordinary story unfolds as the author guides the reader through the hectic and glamorous era of Italian opera and European high society. We follow Lablache as he conquers the dazzling nineteenth century opera world, singing Rossini roles from Napoleon’s time, through the Romantic Age, to become the special favorite of the Victorians in hundreds of Donizetti and Bellini’s bel canto productions. A vocal Hercules, everything about him is larger-than-life: his huge size, powerful voice, good looks, dramatic flare, and irresistible humor and charm. The foremost bass of his time, he rules the stage from London to Vienna, from Paris to St. Petersburg. Notably, Britain’s Queen Victoria singles out Lablache to be her beloved singing teacher for 20 years. Garnered from rare unpublished family memorabilia as well as primary source material across Europe and America, this fascinating family saga does not end with Lablache. Herein the author also recounts how Lablache’s well-known descendents of opera singers and actors carve out their brilliant careers on the stages of Europe, New York and Hollywood.
Download or read book Italian Opera written by David R. B. Kimbell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Kimbell traces the history of Italian opera from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century.
Download or read book Voices in a Mask written by Geoffrey Green and published by Northwestern University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-04 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on images of disguise in literature, theater, and opera, this short-story cycle explores themes of identity and subterfuge in a fictional fugue that ranges from comic to poignant. Into the librettos of Don Giovanni, Tosca, Rigoletto, and other operas, Green weaves the authentic biographies of their singers and composers, modern-day settings, and his own imaginative twists. Throughout Voices in a Mask, characters obscure and reveal themselves as art mimics life and life, art. Ultimately the very acts of masking and projecting reveal a truth about the power of art and its inherent deceptions.
Download or read book Wagner s Melodies written by David Trippett and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-02 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1840s, critics have lambasted Wagner for lacking the ability to compose melody. But for him, melody was fundamental - 'music's only form'. This incongruity testifies to the surprising difficulties during the nineteenth century of conceptualizing melody. Despite its indispensable place in opera, contemporary theorists were unable even to agree on a definition for it. In Wagner's Melodies, David Trippett re-examines Wagner's central aesthetic claims, placing the composer's ideas about melody in the context of the scientific discourse of his age: from the emergence of the natural sciences and historical linguistics to sources about music's stimulation of the body and inventions for 'automatic' composition. Interweaving a rich variety of material from the history of science, music theory, music criticism, private correspondence and court reports, Trippett uncovers a new and controversial discourse that placed melody at the apex of artistic self-consciousness and generated problems of urgent dimensions for German music aesthetics.
Download or read book Opera written by Alan Riding and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-08-16 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experience the passion and drama of the world’s greatest operas with this sumptuously illustrated visual guide. Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world’s most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom they collaborated to create the magical blend of words and music that make up opera. From its origins in the 17th-century courts of Italy to live screenings in public spaces today, Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story follows the history of opera from Monteverdi’s L'Orfeo in 1607, to Cosi fan Tutte, La Bohème, and modern operas such as Brokeback Mountain. It explains musical terminology, traces historical developments, and sets everything in a cultural context. This awe-inspiring opera book further features: -Includes all of the most important operas from the Renaissance to the 21st century -Profiles the key composers, librettists, performers, and companies, with details of their lives, works, and influence -Arranged in chronological order to show the evolution of the genre -Clear, informative explanation of musical terminology and different types of opera This book revels in the sets and costumes that make up the grand spectacle of opera. It also explores the great opera houses of the world, such as La Scala, Milan, the Met in New York, and the Sydney Opera House. Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story is the essential book for anyone who wants to understand and enjoy the constantly evolving world of this beloved art form. Did you know that there are more than 25,000 opera performances per year worldwide? Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story can be regarded as the most lavishly illustrated history of opera currently available, covering all of the most important operas from the Renaissance to the 21st century, and is completely global in scope. A must-have volume for opera buffs, whether as a gift or self-purchase, if you’re a music lover looking for an accessible introduction to opera, then this is the book for you!
Download or read book Opera written by George Henry Hubert Lascelles Earl of Harewood and published by . This book was released on 1960 with total page 992 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Can Poetry Matter written by Dana Gioia and published by . This book was released on 2002-09 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can Poetry Matter? is an important book, and anyone who professes to care about the state of American poetry will have to take it into account. --World Literature Today.
Download or read book the foreign review written by and published by . This book was released on 1828 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book THE FOREIGN REVIEW AND CONTINENTAL MISCELLANY written by and published by . This book was released on 1828 with total page 582 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Poems That Make Grown Men Cry written by Anthony Holden and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-04 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this unique poetry anthology, 100 grown men - bestselling authors, poets laureate, actors, producers and other prominent figures from the arts, sciences and politics, share the poems that have moved them to tears.
Download or read book From Aphra Behn to Fun Home written by Carey Purcell and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-12-04 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before. In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre, Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades. This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future. Purcell explores the very nature of feminist theater—does it qualify if a play is written by a woman or does it just need to feature strong female characters?—as well as how notable activist work for feminism has played a pivotal role in theatre. An engaging survey of female artists on stage and behind the scenes, From Aphra Behn to Fun Home will be of interest to theatregoers and anyone interested in the invaluable contributions of women in the performing arts.
Download or read book The Mirror of Literature Amusement and Instruction written by Thomas Byerly and published by . This book was released on 1828 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Athenaeum and Literary Chronicle written by and published by . This book was released on 1858 with total page 1712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cupid and Psyche written by Apuleius and published by Phoemixx Classics Ebooks. This book was released on 2021-11-07 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cupid and Psyche Apuleius - Cupid and Psyche is a story from the Latin novel Metamorphoses, also known as The Golden Ass, written in the 2nd century AD by Apuleius. It concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche (Soul or Breath of Life) and Cupid (Desire), and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage.
Download or read book Maria Malibran written by April FitzLyon and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
