Opera category: 14844 books

Even Salieri, the notorious villain of Peter Shaffer’s drama Amadeus, admired Mozart’s comic opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), which was premièred in Vienna a few weeks before Mozart’s death in December 1791. Though sometimes enjoyed as a children’s opera, this is not a pantomime:...

Through historical and contemporary examples, this book critically explores the relevance and expressions of multicultural representation in western European operatic genres in the modern world. It reveals their approaches to reflecting　identity, transmitting meaning, and inspiring creation, as...

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.

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.

Mozart's Don Giovanni is an operatic masterpiece full of iconic and mythical tensions that still resonate today. The work redefines the terms of power, seduction, and morality, and the resulting conflict between the aesthetic and the ethical is deeply rooted in the Enlightenment and romanticism. The...

Denes Striny's international singing career brought him to the major opera houses of the world in leading roles. At the same time, he was evolving his vocal technique in a quest to find his full vocal potential. This book documents his struggles and successes with himself, teachers, coaches, and other...

A pictorial history of the first eighteen years of Opera Siam, the maverick Thai opera company, lavishly illustrated. From its beginnings as a company producing works "akin to community theater" to creations, in the words of London's Opera Magazine "as good as *any *production...

Live operatic performance was once part of popular culture, yet to the modern novice it can seem exclusive, overwhelming and, often, very very long. In 30-Second Opera, music journalist Hugo Shirley takes the reader through the many building blocks that combine to bring the medium alive: its...

Now a byword for beauty, Verdi’s operas were far from universally acclaimed when they reached London in the second half of the nineteenth century. Why did some critics react so harshly? Who were they and what biases and prejudices animated them? When did their antagonistic attitude change? And why...

The Royal Opera House receives over 1 million visitors a year. Published jointly by the ROH and Oberon Books, this is the first ever guide to the magnificently rebuilt theatre. The guide covers the fascinating and turbulent history of the theatre at Covent Garden since the early 18th century, its...

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.

In volume II of self-standing Short Guides to 25 of the world’s greatest operas, Michael Steen, author of the acclaimed The Lives and Times of the Great Composers, and Great Operas provides another compendium in his ebook series. Much more than a standard reference book, this ranges across influential...

A very brief plot summary of Donizetti's opera Anna Bolena, with English translation and Italian text of the opera's moving final moments.

While the musical culture of the British Isles in the 'long nineteenth century' has been reclaimed from obscurity by musicologists in the last thirty years, appraisal of operatic culture in the latter part of this period has remained largely elusive. Paul Rodmell argues that there were far more opportunities...