A Complete Guide To Learning And Loving Opera

Author : Fred Plotkin
Publisher : Hachette UK
ISBN 13 : 1401306004
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.07/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Opera 101 written by Fred Plotkin and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2013-07-16 with total page 512 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.

Author : Fred Plotkin
Publisher : Hyperion
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 520 pages
Book Rating : 4.57/5 ( download)

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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.

Author : Fred Plotkin
Publisher : Hyperion
ISBN 13 : 9780786886272
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.77/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Classical Music 101 written by Fred Plotkin and published by Hyperion. This book was released on 2002-09-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Paperback Original. The author who has taught tens of thousands of people to love opera now introduces readers to the rich and soul-stirring world of classical music. For anyone who is aching to discover classical music, this comprehensive and accessible book is the ideal teacher. Writing in the clear and highly entertaining prose that made Opera 101 the standard text in its field, Fred Plotkin -- music expert, teacher, lecturer, and famous author -- presents classical music in a way that respects both the reader and the art form. In Classical Music 101: --The reader will discover how to become an expert listener, which is essential for learning to love classical music. --A thousand years of music are explored, with emphasis on great works in all styles. Significant composers will be profiled in depth, including Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, and many more. --Important musicians, such as pianist Emanuel Ax, singer Marilyn Horne, and conductor James Levine, speak about their art in interviews. Classical Music 101, the newest addition to a highly successful series intended for readers who don't consider themselves dummies or idiots, will help the person drawn to the finer things in life (and readers who don't know how to approach them) discover the glories of music.

Author : Carolyn Abbate
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393089533
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A History of Opera written by Carolyn Abbate and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The best single volume ever written on the subject, such is its range, authority, and readability.”—Times Literary Supplement Why has opera transfixed and fascinated audiences for centuries? Carolyn Abbate and Roger Parker answer this question in their “effervescent, witty” (Die Welt, Germany) retelling of the history of opera, examining its development, the musical and dramatic means by which it communicates, and its role in society. Now with an expanded examination of opera as an institution in the twenty-first century, this “lucid and sweeping” (Boston Globe) narrative explores the tensions that have sustained opera over four hundred years: between words and music, character and singer, inattention and absorption. Abbate and Parker argue that, though the genre’s most popular and enduring works were almost all written in a distant European past, opera continues to change the viewer— physically, emotionally, intellectually—with its enduring power.

Author : Robert Greskovic
Publisher : Hal Leonard Corporation
ISBN 13 : 9780879103255
Total Pages : 660 pages
Book Rating : 4.56/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Ballet 101 written by Robert Greskovic and published by Hal Leonard Corporation. This book was released on 2005 with total page 660 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a look at the world of dance; an analysis of ballet movement, music, and history; a close-up look at popular ballets; and a host of performance tips.

Author : Fred Plotkin
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780316291484
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.8X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Opera 101 written by Fred Plotkin and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 380 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.

Author : William Berger
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0307756343
Total Pages : 466 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Wagner Without Fear written by William Berger and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2010-06-16 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you cringe when your opera-loving friends start raving about the latest production of Tristan? Do you feel faint just thinking about the six-hour performance of Parsifal you were given tickets to? Does your mate accuse you of having a Tannhäuser complex? If you're baffled by the behavior of Wagner worshipers, if you've longed to fathom the mysteries of Wagner's ever-increasing popularity, or if you just want to better understand and enjoy the performances you're attending, you'll find this delightful book indispensable. William Berger is the most helpful guide one could hope to find for navigating the strange and beautiful world of the most controversial artist who ever lived. He tells you all you need to know to become a true Wagnerite--from story lines to historical background; from when to visit the rest room to how to sound smart during intermission; from the Jewish legend that possibly inspired Lohengrin to the tragic death of the first Tristan. Funny, informative, and always a pleasure to read, Wagner Without Fear proves that the art of Wagner can be accessible to everyone. Includes: - The strange life of Richard Wagner--German patriot (and exile), friend (and enemy) of Liszt and Nietzsche - Essential opera lore and "lobby talk" - A scene-by-scene analysis of each opera - What to listen for to get the most from the music - Recommended recordings, films, and sound tracks

Author : Sir Denis Forman
Publisher : Modern Library
ISBN 13 : 0307807827
Total Pages : 980 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Night at the Opera written by Sir Denis Forman and published by Modern Library. This book was released on 2011-10-05 with total page 980 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “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.

Author : Vivien Schweitzer
Publisher : Hachette UK
ISBN 13 : 0465096948
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.47/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Mad Love written by Vivien Schweitzer and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 288 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.

Author : Phil G. Goulding
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 0449005666
Total Pages : 721 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Ticket to the Opera written by Phil G. Goulding and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 1999-08-31 with total page 721 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ticket to the Opera, Phil G. Goulding finally makes the magic and mystique of opera accessible to all. Here he offers a complete operatic education, including history, definitions of key musical terms, opera lore and gossip, portraits of famous singers and the roles they immortalized, as well as pithy introductions to the greatest operas of Europe and America and their composers. The book's centerpiece is what Goulding terms "the collection"--85 classics, among them Aida, The Marriage of Figaro, Carmen, and Madama Butterfly, that have been packing the world's opera houses for years. This entertaining, meticulously researched book also includes a fascinating chapter on American opera from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess to Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach and a discussion of the gems of twentieth-century opera featuring works like Leos Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen, Alban Berg's Lulu, and Serge Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges. Whether you're a curious neophyte, a music lover interested in branching out, or an aficionado eager to compare notes with a brilliant fellow opera buff, you'll prize Ticket to the Opera as an essential volume in your music library.