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 fif...

"If Music be, among the arts, 'Heaven's youngest-teemed star', the latest of the art-forms she herself has brought forth is unquestionably Opera. Three hundred years does not at first seem a very short time, but it is not long when it covers the whole period of the inception, development, and what certainly looks like the decadence, of an important branch of man's artistic industry. The art of painting has taken at least twice as long to develop; yet the three centuries from Monteverde to ...

In "Paul Clifford '— Complete," Edward Bulwer Lytton intricately weaves a tale that delves into the moral quandaries of crime, society, and redemption. Set against the backdrop of early 19th-century England, the novel chronicles the life of Paul Clifford, the son of a nobleman turned highwayman, exploring themes of social class, justice, and the inherent duality of human nature. Lytton's prose is characterized by its Romantic flair, employing elaborate descriptions and existential reflecti...

A dazzling study of the operas Verdi adapted from Shakespeare- and a spellbinding account of their creation.In Verdi's Shakespeare, Pulitzer Prize winner and lifelong opera devotee Garry Wills explores the writing and staging of Verdi's three triumphant Shakespearian operas: Macbeth, Othello, and Falstaff. An Italian composer who couldn't read a word of English but adored Shakespeare, Verdi devoted himself to operatic productions that aut...

Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas are some of the world’s best-loved musical works, delighting audiences with their joyous wit, topsy-turvy logic and extravagant wordplay. This glorious treasury is the definitive annotated edition of all fourteen of their operas.From the partially lost work Thespis, the first collaboration between W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, through the triumphant comic romps The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, to lesser-performed ...

For most of my life I've wanted to be a top rate tenor. As a young man it was my dream to be singing in the great opera houses of the world. I always believed it was my destiny and that I had it in me to achieve my dream. But obviously my dream didn't eventuate. However, I still believe it would have been possible to achieve that goal if I had known as much about singing when I was younger as I do now. At seventy-five it's a bit impractical to expect that I can still make it to the top, bu...

The musical leitmotif, having reached a point of particular forcefulness in the music of Richard Wagner, has remained a popular compositional device up to the present day. In this book, Matthew Bribitzer-Stull explores the background and development of the leitmotif, from Wagner to the Hollywood adaptations of The Lord of The Rings and the Harry Potter series. Analyzing both concert music and film music, Bribitzer-Stull explains what the leitmotif is and establishes it as the union of two ...

A comprehensive guide that includes Principal Characters in the Opera, Brief Story Synopsis, Story Narrative with Music Examples, and Burton D. Fisher's in depth and insightful Commentary and Analysis.

For anyone who has been intimidated, overwhelmed, or just plain confused by what they think opera is, WHO'S AFRAID OF OPERA? offers a lively, readable guide to what author Michael Walsh describes as "the greatest art form yet invented by humankind."From opera's origins in Renaissance Italy to The Who's rock odyssey "Tommy" and Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods," Walsh explores what opera is and what it's not, what makes a great singer, and why it takes Tristan so long to die....

This classic text, first published in 1972, has withstood the test of time as a teaching aid for English-speaking singers, teachers, coaches, and accompanists, in order that their art may be more communicative to the public. These word-by-word translations of songs and arias allow the artist to properly interpret and express the feelings and emotions that the words require at the proper time.

In a famous Parisian chess café, a down-and-out, HIM, accosts a former acquaintance, ME, who has made good, more or less. They talk about chess, about genius, about good and evil, about music, they gossip about the society in which they move, one of extreme inequality, of corruption, of envy, and about the circle of hangers-on in which the down-and-out abides. The down-and-out from time to time is possessed with movements almost like spasms, in which he imitates, he gestures, he rants. And...

A wide-ranging look at the interplay of opera and political ideas through the centuriesThe Politics of Opera takes readers on a fascinating journey into the entwined development of opera and politics, from the Renaissance through the turn of the nineteenth century. What political backdrops have shaped opera? How has opera conveyed the political ideas of its times? Delving into European history and thought and an array of music by such greats as Lully, Ramea...