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.
Download or read book Guide for the Study of Opera Understanding an Opera s Libretto written by Christopher Losa and published by . This book was released on 2021-05-22 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eugene Onegin is an opera in 3 acts (7 scenes), composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto, organized by the composer himself, very closely follows certain passages in Alexander Pushkin's 1825-1832 novel in verse, retaining much of his poetry. Eugene Onegin is a well-known example of lyric opera, to which Tchaikovsky added music of a dramatic nature. The story concerns a selfish hero who lives to regret his blasé rejection of a young woman's love and his careless incitement of a fatal duel with his best friend. A comprehensive new OPERA STUDY GUIDE with this book, featuring Principal Characters in the Opera, Brief Story Synopsis; Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples; the author's in-depth and insightful Commentary and Analysis; and a newly translated LIBRETTO in English.
Download or read book What to Listen For in Opera written by Charles R. Beck and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-10-06 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering famous operas from 14 Italian, French and German composers, this handbook is designed to help listeners understand and appreciate the special skills required to sing famous operatic songs. The book includes a plot synopsis of each opera with information about each song, which are introduced in their dramatic settings along with the vocal requirements for the most demanding passages. Interactive literary and rhyming exercises help the reader become more engaged and knowledgeable. Foreign language passages are translated into English and key words are highlighted in each language. The operatic vocabulary is defined to help the listener better understand the technical demands for a highly trained voice. The book is designed as a useful handbook for both experienced and beginning opera listeners. Appendices provide information on singers, recordings and useful references.
Download or read book A Story is a Promise written by Bill Johnson and published by Blue Heron Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A Story Is a Promise offers a new model for understanding one of the most difficult of all arts: writing dramatic, engaging stories." "Written in a style reminiscent of a workshop, A Story Is a Promise guides the writer toward a keen understanding of the principle underlying all well-told stories, that a story is both a promise made and a promise kept. Step by step, this book teaches writers how to set out a story's promise in an active voice, which is the voice of the true storyteller."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Download or read book A Beginner s Guide to Opera written by Jeremy Nicholas and published by Gramercy. This book was released on 1994 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Let this book reveal this new world to you. Covers: which operas to try first, and which to tackle later; the stories of over 75 best-loved operas; all the famous highlights, and where to find them; recommended recordings and performers; the lives of the great opera composers, and a brief history of opera; and an A-Z of opera terms.--From publisher description.
Download or read book Understanding the Women of Mozart s Operas written by Kristi Brown-Montesano and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is The Marriage of Figaro just about Figaro? Is Don Giovanni’s story the only one—or even the most interesting one—in the opera that bears his name? For generations of critics, historians, and directors, it’s Mozart’s men who have mattered most. Too often, the female characters have been understood from the male protagonist’s point of view or simply reduced on stage (and in print) to paper cutouts from the age of the powdered wig and the tightly cinched corset. It’s time to give Mozart’s women—and Mozart’s multi-dimensional portrayals of feminine character—their due. In this lively book, Kristi Brown-Montesano offers a detailed exploration of the female roles in Mozart’s four most frequently performed operas, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and Die Zauberflöte. Each chapter takes a close look at the music, libretto text, literary sources, and historical factors that give shape to a character, re-evaluating common assumptions and proposing fresh interpretations. Brown-Montesano views each character as the subject of a story, not merely the object of a hero’s narrative or the stock figure of convention. From amiable Zerlina, to the awesome Queen of the Night, to calculating Despina, all of Mozart’s women have something unique to say. These readings also tackle provocative social, political, and cultural issues, which are used in the operas to define positive and negative images of femininity: revenge, power, seduction, resistance, autonomy, sacrifice, faithfulness, class, maternity, and sisterhood. Keenly aware of the historical gap between the origins of these works and contemporary culture, Brown-Montesano discusses how attitudes about such concepts—past and current—influence our appreciation of these fascinating representations of women.
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.
Download or read book Verdi s ERNANI OPERA STUDY GUIDE and LIBRETO written by Burton D. Fisher and published by Opera Journeys Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive new OPERA STUDY GUIDE AND LIBRETTO of Verdi's ERNANI, featuring Principal Characters in the Opera; Brief Story Synopsis; Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples; a newly translated LIBRETTO with Italian and English translation side-by-side, with Music Highlight Examples; and Burton D. Fisher's in depth and insightful Commentary and Analysis.
Download or read book Wagner s PARSIFAL Opera Study Guide with Libretto written by Burton D. Fisher and published by . This book was released on 2017-12 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive new OPERA STUDY GUIDE of Richard Wagner¿s PARSIFAL, Opera Study Guide with Libretto, featuring Principal Characters in the Opera; Brief Story Synopsis; Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples; Burton D. Fisher's in depth and insightful Commentary and Analysis; and a new LIBRETTO with German and English translation in parallel (side-by-side).
Download or read book The Baroque Libretto written by Domenico Pietropaolo and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Baroque Libretto catalogues the Baroque Italian operas and oratorios in the Thomas Fisher Library at the University of Toronto and offers an analysis of how the study of libretto can inform the understanding of opera.
Download or read book A Guide to the Opera written by Esther Singleton and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2015-06-25 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from A Guide to the Opera In the following pages I have endeavoured to present a clear and comprehensive view of some of the principal operas. So far as I know, there is no work that exactly covers this field. At the best, librettos, even when worthily translated and complete, elucidate only one side of a composition, and the majority of librettos arbitrarily omit whole scenes (sometimes, indeed, whole Acts) that are often important connecting links in the action. The average libretto is untrustworthy as a foil presentment of the composer's meaning. It is merely a given manager's version of a certain opera. Of course, if we know the whole work, we can understand any version; but if we only know mutilated versions, our ideas of the work are apt to be very confused. Moreover, it is hard for some people to construct the course of the action exclusively from the dialogue and bare stage-directions. Furthermore, the Argument is usually misleading, for it always tells some of the incidents out of the order in which they occur on the stage, and sometimes mentions occurrences as part of the action, whereas they are really only referred to in the dialogue. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Download or read book Opera written by Guy A. Marco and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-05-03 with total page 655 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opera is the only guide to the research writings on all aspects of opera. This second edition presents 2,833 titles--over 2,000 more than the first edition--of books, parts of books, articles and dissertations with full bibliographic descriptions and critical annotations. Users will find the core literature on the operas of 320 individual composers and details of operatic life in 43 countries. All relevant works through to November 1999 have been considered, covering more than fifteen years of literature since the first edition was published.
Download or read book Giuseppe Verdi DON CARLOS Opera Study Guide with Libretto written by Burton D. Fisher and published by Opera Classics Library Series. This book was released on 2019-05 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive new Study Guide for Giuseppe Verdi's DON CARLOS, featuring Principal Characters in the Opera, Brief Story Synopsis, Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples, a new Libretto translation with French to English in side-by-side format, and Burton D. Fisher's insightful and in depth Commentary and Analysis.
Download or read book The Art of Writing Opera Librettos written by Edgar Istel and published by Literary Licensing, LLC. This book was released on 2014-08-07 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Is A New Release Of The Original 1922 Edition.
Download or read book Reading Opera written by Arthur Groos and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-07-14 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Libretto-bashing has a distinguished tradition in the blood sport of opera," writes Arthur Groos in the introduction to this broad survey of critical approaches to that much-maligned genre. To examine, and to challenge, the long-standing prejudice against libretti and the scholarly tradition that has, until recently, reiterated it, Groos and Roger Parker have commissioned thirteen stimulating essays by musicologists, literary critics, and historians. Taken as a whole, the volume demonstrates that libretti are now very much within the purview of contemporary humanistic scholarship. Libretti pose questions of intertextuality, transposition of genre, and reception history. They invite a broad spectrum of contemporary reading strategies ranging from the formalistic to the feminist. And as texts for music they raise issues in the relation between the two mediums and their respective traditions. Reading Opera will be of value to anyone with a serious interest in opera and contemporary opera criticism. The essays cover the period from the early nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries, with a particular focus on works of the later nineteenth century. The contributors are Carolyn Abbate, William Ashbrook, Katherine Bergeron, Caryl Emerson, Nelly Furman, Sander L. Gilman, Arthur Groos, James A. Hepokoski, Jurgen Maehder, Roger Parker, Paul Robinson, Christopher Wintle, and Susan Youens. Originally published in 1988. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book The Collins Guide To Opera And Operetta written by Michael White and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1997, Collins Opera & Operetta is an invaluable guide to this fascinating but sometimes misunderstood art form, presenting essential information on over 180 major operas and operettas in an accessible, yet scholarly, way.
Download or read book The Tales of Hoffmann written by Mary Dibbern and published by Pendragon Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mary Dibbern, Music Director of Education and Family Programs at The Dallas Opera, and adjunct faculty member at the University of North Texas has created a Performance Guide for Offenbach's opera The Tales of Hoffmann. This contribution to the Vox Musicae series presents a word-by-word translation and IPA transcription of the published versions of the French libretto, and her translations of its literary sources trace the libretto's development from E.T.A. Hoffmann's "Tales." The Guide includes an interview with French opera specialist Janine Reiss, and a Foreword by Thomas Grubb. This well-rounded volume is designed for use by singers, vocal coaches, conductors, producers and directors, as well as opera-lovers.
