Author: Amanda Holden
Publisher: Penguin USA
ISBN: 9780140514759
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 1142
Book Description
Provides biographical sketches for nearly 850 composers along with articles on approximately 2,000 works.
The New Penguin Opera Guide
Author: Amanda Holden
Publisher: Penguin USA
ISBN: 9780140514759
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 1142
Book Description
Provides biographical sketches for nearly 850 composers along with articles on approximately 2,000 works.
Publisher: Penguin USA
ISBN: 9780140514759
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 1142
Book Description
Provides biographical sketches for nearly 850 composers along with articles on approximately 2,000 works.
A Guide to Orchestral Music
Author: Ethan Mordden
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195040414
Category : Music appreciation
Languages : en
Pages : 588
Book Description
This authoritative guide gives the non-musician the fundamentals of orchestral music. It begins with a general introduction to the symphony and various musical styles and then describes, chronologically, over seven hundred pieces--from Vivaldi to twentieth-century composers. Mordden also includes a glossary of musical terms and other useful aids for the music lover.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195040414
Category : Music appreciation
Languages : en
Pages : 588
Book Description
This authoritative guide gives the non-musician the fundamentals of orchestral music. It begins with a general introduction to the symphony and various musical styles and then describes, chronologically, over seven hundred pieces--from Vivaldi to twentieth-century composers. Mordden also includes a glossary of musical terms and other useful aids for the music lover.
Opera 101
Author: Fred Plotkin
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1401306004
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 512
Book Description
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.
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1401306004
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 512
Book Description
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.
Performing Opera
Author: Michael Ewans
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474239099
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
In Performing Opera: A Practical Guide for Singers and Directors Michael Ewans provides a detailed and practical workbook to performing many of the most commonly produced operas. Drawing on examples from twenty-four operas ranging in period from Gluck and Mozart to Britten and Tippett, it illustrates exactly how opera functions as dramatic form. Grounded in close analyses of performances of thirty scenes and five whole operas by first-rate singers and celebrated directors, Performing Opera provides readers with an appreciation of the unique challenges and skills required by performers and directors. It will assist them in their own performance and equip them with detailed knowledge of works most commonly featured in the repertoire. In the first part of the book the analysis progresses from scenes in which the singers are silent, via arias and monologues, duets and confrontations, up to ensembles. Wider issues are subsequently addressed: encounters with offstage events, encounters with the numinous, characterization, and the sense of inevitability in tragic opera.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474239099
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
In Performing Opera: A Practical Guide for Singers and Directors Michael Ewans provides a detailed and practical workbook to performing many of the most commonly produced operas. Drawing on examples from twenty-four operas ranging in period from Gluck and Mozart to Britten and Tippett, it illustrates exactly how opera functions as dramatic form. Grounded in close analyses of performances of thirty scenes and five whole operas by first-rate singers and celebrated directors, Performing Opera provides readers with an appreciation of the unique challenges and skills required by performers and directors. It will assist them in their own performance and equip them with detailed knowledge of works most commonly featured in the repertoire. In the first part of the book the analysis progresses from scenes in which the singers are silent, via arias and monologues, duets and confrontations, up to ensembles. Wider issues are subsequently addressed: encounters with offstage events, encounters with the numinous, characterization, and the sense of inevitability in tragic opera.
Opera 101
Author: Fred Plotkin
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 520
Book Description
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.
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 520
Book Description
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.
A Night at the Opera
Author: Sir Denis Forman
Publisher: Modern Library
ISBN: 0307807827
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 980
Book Description
“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.
Publisher: Modern Library
ISBN: 0307807827
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 980
Book Description
“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.
Phaidon Book of the Opera
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 520
Book Description
Arranged chronologically with an index of operas and a separate index of composers, librettists and literary sources.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 520
Book Description
Arranged chronologically with an index of operas and a separate index of composers, librettists and literary sources.
The La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera
Author: Giorgio Bagnoli
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0671870424
Category : Opera
Languages : en
Pages : 408
Book Description
Covering a broad range of styles, this comprehensive volume includes entries for more than 450 operas that have been performed over the last four centuries. Organized from A to Z for easy reference, it's a complete guide that's certain to inform and entertain any opera buff. 500 photos.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0671870424
Category : Opera
Languages : en
Pages : 408
Book Description
Covering a broad range of styles, this comprehensive volume includes entries for more than 450 operas that have been performed over the last four centuries. Organized from A to Z for easy reference, it's a complete guide that's certain to inform and entertain any opera buff. 500 photos.
The Opera Singer's Career Guide
Author: Pearl Yeadon McGinnis
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 0810869160
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 351
Book Description
Any singer longing to have a career in opera, particularly in Europe, should be familiar with the European system of classifying voices know as Fach. The Opera Singer's Career Guide: Understanding the European Fach System presents valuable information to help readers learn, understand, and use the Fach system to their professional advantage. More than just soprano, alto, tenor, or bass, students and professionals alike should know the 25 different Fach categories fully defined here, along with the examples of roles, audition arias, and European opera houses and agents provided. Based on careful research and personal experience, singer and teacher Pearl Yeadon McGinnis describes the features, characteristics, and benefits of the Fach system, including voice categorization and classification and using Fach to train the young voice. She provides practical information on maintaining a career in opera, such as the different types, procedures, and pitfalls of opera auditions; types of opera contracts and contract negotiations; and the value of networking. She explains the different styles of European opera houses and gives an example of life in a state level German opera house, including the various performance spaces, the makeup and responsibilities of an ensemble, and the jobs and functions of opera house personnel. A glossary and several appendixes supply tools for auditioning, such as newly classified roles for Children, Lyric, and Beginner singers; roles for the established Fach categories; lists of opera agents and houses in the German speaking countries; and suggested audition arias by Fach. In addition, practical details are offered about establishing and maintaining residency in Europe, obtaining permission to live and work in Europe, and helpful hints about customs and travel.
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 0810869160
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 351
Book Description
Any singer longing to have a career in opera, particularly in Europe, should be familiar with the European system of classifying voices know as Fach. The Opera Singer's Career Guide: Understanding the European Fach System presents valuable information to help readers learn, understand, and use the Fach system to their professional advantage. More than just soprano, alto, tenor, or bass, students and professionals alike should know the 25 different Fach categories fully defined here, along with the examples of roles, audition arias, and European opera houses and agents provided. Based on careful research and personal experience, singer and teacher Pearl Yeadon McGinnis describes the features, characteristics, and benefits of the Fach system, including voice categorization and classification and using Fach to train the young voice. She provides practical information on maintaining a career in opera, such as the different types, procedures, and pitfalls of opera auditions; types of opera contracts and contract negotiations; and the value of networking. She explains the different styles of European opera houses and gives an example of life in a state level German opera house, including the various performance spaces, the makeup and responsibilities of an ensemble, and the jobs and functions of opera house personnel. A glossary and several appendixes supply tools for auditioning, such as newly classified roles for Children, Lyric, and Beginner singers; roles for the established Fach categories; lists of opera agents and houses in the German speaking countries; and suggested audition arias by Fach. In addition, practical details are offered about establishing and maintaining residency in Europe, obtaining permission to live and work in Europe, and helpful hints about customs and travel.
The Viking Opera Guide
Author: Amanda Holden
Publisher: Viking Adult
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 1338
Book Description
The book, which was published early this year and is available unbundled from the CD-ROM for $69.95, contains information on more than 800 composers and examines some 1,500 operas in detail. Each composer's musical career is outlined, with an assessment of his or her overall contribution to opera. Opera entries include cast lists and orchestral forces, a commentary on the background of the work, a synopsis of the plot, and a musical analysis identifying musical highlights and points of interest. Recording and edition information is included. For those who don't like to turn pages, prefer to read from the screen, or just like the click-click of the mouse, the CD-ROM provides computer access via Windows to the information and pictures (small black and whites) of the book. The CD-ROM holds some enhancements: notably, three hours of music excerpts (unheard by this reviewer who lacks the needed 16-bit sound card; some, according to the press release, are as long as three to five minutes). Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Publisher: Viking Adult
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 1338
Book Description
The book, which was published early this year and is available unbundled from the CD-ROM for $69.95, contains information on more than 800 composers and examines some 1,500 operas in detail. Each composer's musical career is outlined, with an assessment of his or her overall contribution to opera. Opera entries include cast lists and orchestral forces, a commentary on the background of the work, a synopsis of the plot, and a musical analysis identifying musical highlights and points of interest. Recording and edition information is included. For those who don't like to turn pages, prefer to read from the screen, or just like the click-click of the mouse, the CD-ROM provides computer access via Windows to the information and pictures (small black and whites) of the book. The CD-ROM holds some enhancements: notably, three hours of music excerpts (unheard by this reviewer who lacks the needed 16-bit sound card; some, according to the press release, are as long as three to five minutes). Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR