Desde los inicios de la ópera en las diversas cortes del norte de Italia hasta su expansión por Europa y más allá, este libro explora el mundo de los teatros de ópera y los empresarios operísticos, de monarcas y negociantes, de artistas y públicos. En su Grand Tour operístico, el autor nos traslada a la Mantua y a la Florencia del Renacimiento, al Londres de Händel, al París de Luis XIV y a la Viena del emperador José II y Mozart. Cuando en el siglo XIX la ópera deja de ser monopo...

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) was the Shakespeare of opera, the composer of Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida and Otello. The Chorus of Hebrew slaves from Nabucco (1842) is regarded in Italy as virtually an alternative national anthem – and the great tragedian rounded off his career fifty years later with a rousing comedy, Falstaff.When Verdi was born, much of northern Italy was under Napoleonic rule, and Verdi grew up dre...

The Gilded Stage is a comprehensive tour of the world of opera. From its origins in the courts of northern Italy, to its internationally recognised position in modern culture, Snowman explores the social history of opera houses and impresarios, composers and patrons, artists and audiences.Even the most flamboyant composers could scarcely have imagined the global reach of opera in our own times. More opera is performed, financed, seen, heard, filmed and broadcast than ever ...

The Spirit of the Snowman is a heartwarming Christmas tale about the true magic of kindness, teamwork, and believing in the impossible. In a small town blanketed in snow, a grumpy snowman stands tall in the town square, uninterested in the holiday joy around him. But when a group of children, led by the brave and determined Lily, gather to sing Christmas carols, the snowman comes to life and starts a journey that will teach them all the power of Christmas spirit. As the snowman reveals his...

浩瀚的巨作，絕對媲美史上最佳的歌劇。——Tim Blanning史上第一，也是目前唯一講述歌劇社會史的巨作歌劇，世界上浪漫、絢麗、迷人，也是最具政治影響力的菁英藝術，它不僅僅是一種藝術形式，也是一種社會、經濟和政治現象。無論是莫劄特在維也納的繁華、腓特烈大帝在柏林的喧囂、頹廢巴黎的誘惑、澳洲內陸的荒蠻、新富美國的附庸風雅……無論在哪裡，「歌劇院」都被視作是高度文明的象徵與政治的強力宣告。透過《鎏金舞台：你不可不知道的歌劇發展社會史》，我們將焦點從歌劇舞臺移至圍繞在其周遭的一切，探索更寬廣的領域。本書除了歌劇的創作、供給與需求，同樣也關注包括歌劇院、劇團經理、君主與商人、藝術家和觀眾，以及當時社會狀態等等。從社會學的視角出發，作者講述了歌劇從文藝復興時期的義大利北部，隨後迅速橫掃歐美大陸，風靡世界各地，直至數位化普及至今...

Daniel Snowman is a social and cultural historian. His latest book is a collection of some of the more provocative essays he has published over many decades that examine how we use and abuse ‘history’.If the past is everything that has ever happened, he asks, why does what we call ‘history’ keep changing? What (or who) causes historical change? Could aspects of the past itself have been different? What do we choose to retain as our ‘heritage’ and why? Are ‘the arts’ part of history ...