Experience the passion and drama of the world's greatest operas with this sumptuously illustrated visual guide. Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom they collaborated to create the magical blend of words and music that make up opera. From its origins in the 17th-century courts of Italy to live screenings in public spaces today, Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story follows the history of opera from Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in 1607, to Cosi fan Tutte, La Boheme, and modern operas such as Brokeback Mountain. It explains musical terminology, traces historical developments, and sets everything in cultural context. This awe-inspiring opera book further features: -Includes all of the most important operas from the Renaissance to the 21st century -Profiles the key composers, librettists, performers, and companies, with details of their lives, works, and influence -Arranged in chronological order to show the evolution of the genre -Clear, informative explanation of musical terminology and different types of opera Filled with photographs of all the key figures and performances, this book revels in the sets and costumes that make up the grand spectacle of opera. It also explores the great opera houses of the world, such as La Scala, Milan, the Met in New York, and the Sydney Opera House. Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story is the essential book for anyone who wants to understand and enjoy the constantly evolving world of this beloved art form. Did you know that there are more than 25,000 opera performances per year worldwide? Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story can be regarded as the most lavishly illustrated history of opera currently available, covering all of the most important operas from the Renaissance to the 21st century, and is completely global in scope. A must-have volume for opera buffs, whether as a gift or self-purchase, if you're a music lover looking for an accessible introduction to opera, then this is the book for you!

"What is it about a dull yellow metal that drives men to abandon their homes, sell their belongings and cross a continent in order to risk life, limbs and sanity for a dream?" - Sebastiao Salgado When Sebastiao Salgado was finally authorized to visit Serra Pelada in September 1986, having been blocked for six years by Brazil's military authorities, he was ill-prepared to take in the extraordinary spectacle that awaited him on this remote hilltop on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. Before him opened a vast hole, some 200 meters wide and deep, teeming with tens of thousands of barely-clothed men. Half of them carried sacks weighing up to 40 kilograms up wooden ladders, the others leaping down muddy slopes back into the cavernous maw. Their bodies and faces were the color of ochre, stained by the iron ore in the earth they had excavated. After gold was discovered in one of its streams in 1979, Serra Pelada evoked the long-promised El Dorado as the world's largest open-air gold mine, employing some 50,000 diggers in appalling conditions. Today, Brazil's wildest gold rush is merely the stuff of legend, kept alive by a few happy memories, many pained regrets-and Sebastiao Salgado's photographs. Color dominated the glossy pages of magazines when Salgado shot these images. Black and white was a risky path, but the Serra Pelada portfolio would mark a return to the grace of monochrome photography, following a tradition whose masters, from Edward Weston and Brassai to Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, had defined the early and mid-20th century. When Salgado's images reached The New York Times Magazine, something extraordinary happened: there was complete silence. "In my entire career at The New York Times," recalled photo editor Peter Howe, "I never saw editors react to any set of pictures as they did to Serra Pelada." Today, with photography absorbed by the art world and digital manipulation, Salgado's portfolio holds a biblical quality and projects an immediacy that makes them vividly contemporary. The mine at Serra Pelada has been long closed, yet the intense drama of the gold rush leaps out of these images. This book gathers Salgado's complete Serra Pelada portfolio in museum-quality reproductions, accompanied by a foreword by the photographer and an essay by Alan Riding. Also available in a signed and limited Collector's Edition and as an Art Edition.

Unravel the history, themes, and language of Shakespeare's plays, poems, and sonnets with this beautifully illustrated guide to his life and works. Comedy and romance, history, and tragedy, Shakespeare's canon has it all. Some 400 years after they were written and first performed, his works still remain fresh and relevant today. Discover the work of the world's most celebrated playwright with: - A clear and accessible format - Act-by-act plot summaries of all of his 39 plays with lists of characters - Guidance on how to read and interpret his great sonnets and narrative poems - Plays ordered by time and genre, helping readers to trace the development of Shakespeare's topics, themes, and artistry - Sidebars that clarify the mythological, geographical, and historical context of each play and decode its language, dramatic action, and themes Shakespeare fans will revel in the marvellous depiction of the Stratford-upon-Avon-born Bard himself! His drama book allows you to dive into famous works like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Nights Dreams and explore Shakespeare's sources and inspirations for each! Themes, plots, characters, and language are brought to life with act-by-act plot summaries, resumes of main characters, and in-depth analysis of Shakespeare's use of the English language. Shakespeare: His Life and Works is a wonderful exploration of plays, poems, and sonnets in the context of his life and the Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre further enriching your experience on, on the page, stage, or screen. It's the perfect gift for existing fans of Shakespeare, and anyone looking to find out more about the work of the world's most celebrated playwright.

An epic work of remarkable scope, vigor and passion, W. E. Gutman's latest book is acerbic, iconoclastic and disquieting. In this memoir, he chronicles his life with eloquent, engaging prose that will resonate with readers long after they turn the last page. The palpable sense of wonder and discovery peppered with dark humor and great humanity, is reminiscent of Nabokov's "Speak Memory" and Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past." This honest, often self-critical account of the author's ups and downs as a wanderer and journalist makes "A Paler Shade of Red" great literature.

About the Author:
Born in Paris, W. E. Gutman is a veteran journalist and author. A former writer at "OMNI" magazine and U.S. editor of "Science in the USSR," he covered politics and human rights in Central America from 1994 to 2006. He lives with his wife in southern California.

A study of Mexico - political, social, cultural, economic - by a journalist who was for the past 6 years the NYT bureau chief in Mexico City. With portraits of Mexico's top leaders, about a nation whose stability is vital to our national well-being.