Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Insights into an opera stage director's work from an internationally acclaimed director and teacher. Opera is nowadays performed worldwide. But as an art form it is little understood by performers and audiences alike. The Crafty Art of Opera wants to change that. Here, Michael Hampe brings glimpses of the director's work to a wider audience, uncovering the many techniques and rules that should inform an opera's staging: the need for singers to know their orchestra, the importance of space around singers, the gestures of languages, what we all can learn from Mozart, and the primacy of sense over effect, to name but a few. He shows how stories, through music, become tangible and real. Packed with many anecdotes from the author's luminous career, this book is dedicatedto opera-lovers who want to understand 'how it is done'; to opera-makers who want to better understand their craft; and, last but not least, to those who loathe opera, in order to prove them wrong. Eminently readable, it brings both insight and wit from a life spent in opera as director and teacher. MICHAEL HAMPE is an internationally acclaimed opera stage director. The Crafty Art of Opera was published in German as Opernschule.

A Humorous Synopsis of the Great Operas. Stranded Stories from the Operas is aimed at the serious opera lover who, in addition to possessing a good knowledge of the subject, has a sense of humour. No author, until now, has dared challenge the esoteric world of opera by relating these stories in a humorous way: opera is far too serious a subject to be made fun of Times have changed. In this collection you will find the plots of both The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro told by Figaro himself in his own inimitable style; Samson and Dalilah and Salome retold in appropriate biblical prose; Shakespearian opera is represented by Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet while Wagner lovers, after reading Die Meistersinger, Tristan and Isolde and Parsifal, may want to check their Kobbe. What really happened at the Polka saloon that night is told by Nick the barman in Minnie get your gun while Turandot's baffling riddles have been updated to reflect the advances made in education since those ancient times. Finally, if the reader gets as much pleasure from these stories as the author had in writing them and the illustrator in designing them then the time and trouble spent were well worth the effort.

Speaking of Wagner compiles in a new and highly accessible format celebrated author, lecturer, and Metropolitan Opera commentator William Berger's collection of talks and presentations about Richard Wagner, the most controversial, and perhaps the most widely influential, artist in history. These talks have been successful with diverse audiences, ranging from newcomers to the field to the most exacting experts, often at the same time! Berger's book preserves that wide range of tone: erudite but engaging, from lofty to startlingly coarse (as the subject requires), and connecting the subject to references from mythology to psychology and even (and especially) to cutting-edge pop culture.