The musical theatre of Stephen Sondheim probes deeply into the most disturbing issues of contemporary life. By challenging his audience with intricate music, biting wit, and profound themes, he flouts the traditional wisdom of the musical theatre. Tracing Sondheim's career from his initial success as lyricist for "West Side Story" and "Gypsy" to his most recent work - "Into the Woods" and "Assassins" - Joanne Gordon emphasizes not only the disturbing content of Sondheim's work, but his innovative use of form. In shows such as "A Little Night Music", "Sweeney Todd", and "Sunday in the Park with George", Sondheim's music and lyrics are inextricably woven into the fabric of the entire work.

Meet Leah and Chris; raised on Harry Potter, New Labour and a belief that one day they would be as 'special' as their parents promised. But what happens when those dreams don't become reality? Follow Leah and Chris over these twenty years as they realise the future they were promised as children hasn't turned out as they hoped, against the backdrop of an asteroid heading for earth. Told through performance and live music on multiple stages, with support from a different Humber Street Sesh band every night, this is Welly like you've never seen it before.

(Applause Libretto Library). Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart Introduction by Larry Gelbart "This brazenly retro Broadway musical, inspired by Plautus, is as timeless as comedy itself." Vincent Canby, The New York Times "The most urbane and literate musical comedy text ever conceived." John Simon, New York magazine

Giuliana Prosperi e suo marito Massimo Masi nel 2004, dopo unorganica catalogazione di tutto il materiale musicale, letterario e archivistico che Carlo Prosperi aveva accumulato nel corso del suo magistero, hanno donato integralmente quel patrimonio al Gabinetto G.P. Vieusseux, che ha costituito il Fondo Carlo Prosperi presso l'Archivio Contemporaneo -Alessandro Bonsanti-. Il volume, arricchito da una significativa sezione iconografica, testimonia lintensa attivita di compositore e didatta svolta dal Maestro fiorentino. Corrispondenza, manoscritti, partiture musicali, fotografie, ritagli di giornale, onorificenze, volumi (spesso con dedica e annotazioni autografe in margine). Sommario: Premessa, Gloria Manghetti - Ricordo di Carlo Prosperi, Roman Vlad - Il Fondo Carlo Prosperi allArchivio Contemporaneo Alessandro Bonsanti del Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario G.P. Vieusseux, Mario Ruffini - Nota biografica di Carlo Prosperi OPERE E GIORNI Lopera di Carlo Prosperi: il suono, la notte, le stelle, Mario Ruffini - Catalogo ragionato delle opere di Carlo Prosperi PROSPERI, DALLAPICCOLA, BUSSOTTI: PENSIERI FRA LE EPISTOLE Epistolario, Luigi Dallapiccola/Carlo Prosperi - -Carlo Carissimo-. Gli anni Cinquanta nelle lettere a Carlo Prosperi, Sylvano Bussotti PROSPERI E I SUOI POETI Una autentica amicizia e una naturale vocazione. Dagli archivi di Carlo Betocchi e di Carlo Prosperi, Gloria Manghetti - Follia e malinconia. Note su Carlo Prosperi e il suo Elogio della follia, Silvana Seidel Menchi - Noi solda. Prosperi e la memoria salvata, Maria Adelaide Bartoli Bacherini - O Diotima: una storia personale. Da Carmelo Bene a Carlo Prosperi, Piero Bellugi - Carlo Prosperi: dai Lirici greci a Montale, a Holderlin, Anna Scalfaro - Prosperi alla corte di Francesco Petrarca, Elisabetta Tortelli STELLE ERRANTI, POCO ERRANTI, CALIGINOSE - Numera stellas, si potes-. Brevi erranze notturne, Elisabetta Soldini - Carlo Prosperi et lavant-garde europeenne des annees 60, Ivanka Stoianova - Prosperi, la chitarra, la Scuola, Alvaro Company - In nocte secunda e il cinema dartista, Massimo Becattini SERIALITA BEN TEMPERATA Prosperi alla scoperta di Johann Sebastian Bach fra matematica e serialita, Romano Silva - La prima serialita in Prosperi fino agli anni Sessanta, Paolo Somigli - Carlo Prosperi, o la provincia perplessa. Un commento a Tityrus, Marco Grondona - Tonality as a Prison: Carlo Prosperis Chant, Luciano Chessa - Serialita e pluriserialita: i capolavori; Indagini analitiche intorno a In nocte secunda, Chant, Elogio della follia, Canti dellansia e della gioia, Andrea Panieri - Zwischen Tradizion und Innovation: zum Gesangsstil von Carlo Prosperi; La vocalita di Carlo Prosperi tra innovazione e tradizione, Annette Frank-Andrea Panieri LA FIRENZE APPARTATA DI PROSPERI Lopera didattica di Carlo Prosperi, Alberto Magnolfi - Un compositore appartato nel Conservatorio, Cesare Orselli - Carlo Prosperi nelle istituzioni fiorentine, Eleonora Negri - Prosperi ed io: ombre e luci. Una testimonianza, Luciano Alberti - I compositori fiorentini al Maggio, Mario Sperenzi - Appendice documentaria PROSPERI E LE ARTI FIGURATIVE Carlo Prosperi e gli artisti attraverso la collezione Prosperi-Ulivi, Susanna Ragionieri - Prosperi, Cagli, Gavazzi. Umanesimi paralleli fra musica e arti figurative, Mario Ruffini PROSPERI AL VIEUSSEUX E AL CONSERVATORIO Il Fondo Carlo Prosperi: criteri di ordinamento e catalogazione informatica, Maria Chiara Berni - Salvaguardia e digitalizzazione del Fondo Audio Carlo Prosperi presso il Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini, Marco Ligabue APPARATI Cronologia - Cataloghi - Elenchi degli allievi e dei corrispondenti - Incisioni discografiche e documentazioni sonore - Titoli, nomine, riconoscimenti - Bibliografia generale - Indici

A harsh satire of Eighteenth Century London life, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera is a piece well known by students of literature and music. Gay's composition spawned a new genre of musical works called "ballad opera" whose popularity rapidly caused the decline of Italian opera in London. These well-received ballad operas dominated London's musical theatre from 1728 until the middle of the Eighteenth Century. No other author has looked beyond The Beggar's Opera to analyze the plots of any of these imitative works and their music. The book concentrates on these `children', or descendants.The author describes a number of ballad operas which proliferated on the heels of the success of The Beggar's Opera. Ballad opera gradually matured into a pastoral, bucolic form (comic opera) and eventually into a highly sophisticated type of musical work (burletta). Several samples of each type of work chosen from the performances most frequently given in London are discussed in depth. These analyses include musical examples from the original scores and evaluations of the dramatic and musical aspects of each work. With the exception of The Beggar's Opera, none of these works or similar ones has previously been the subject of detailed analysis and evaluation."How John Gay Changed the Course of England's Musical Theatre" sheds fresh light on the less familiar ballad operas of the Eighteenth Century. Gay's The Beggar's Opera created such a demand for musical satire that original music began to be composed for English comic works. ...Edmund Miller, Chairman of the English Department, C. W. Post Campus of Long Island UniversityThis is an engaging and unique look at a piece of operatic history out of the mainstream. It invites the reader to explore works that he may not know, along with the milieu in which these musical gems became popular....Kathryn Smith, General Director, Tacoma OperaDr. Atkins provides an insightful study of Eighteenth Century ballad opera ranging from John Gay's The Beggar's Opera with its political satire and burlesque of Italian opera to the comic operas and burlettas which rounded out the century. This highly readable exposition includes examples of the tuneful airs, and explains the plots of the most popular works of the period. It will delight both musical and literary scholars....Patricia Azar, Associate Editor, Collected Works of G. K. ChestertonMadeline Atkins has given us a thorough and intelligent study of Eighteenth Century popular English musical theater, and the seminal role of The Beggar's Opera in its development. With the inclusion of numerous musical examples, abundant historical details, and deft, clear analyses, this book is an excellent introduction to a delightful musical genre and period. Atkins successfully accomplishes both of her aims: she informs us about an overlooked yet important era of musical history and she convinces us to want to hear it again for ourselves, and she does it artfully and skillfully....Barry Sherman, Associate Professor of Communications, St. John's University