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Le nozze di Figaro is one of Mozart's best-loved and most enduring
works. The first of the three operas he wrote with Lorenzo da Ponte
and based on Beaumarchais's play, it established the
thirty-year-old Mozart as an opera composer of the very first rank.
Its combination of wit, acute psychological observation and sublime
music has enthralled audiences ever since its premiere in Prague in
1786. This guide contains articles about the historical background
to the opera, as well as musical and dramatic commentaries. Further
articles deal with the changes in musical performance brought about
in recent times by the period practice movement and with the
particular uses Mozart makes of recitatives. There is also a survey
of the opera's most important productions. Illustrations, a
thematic guide, the full libretto with English translation and
reference sections are also included.
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La boheme (Paperback)
Giacomo Puccini; Volume editing by Gary Khan
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R376
R326
Discovery Miles 3 260
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Puccini's La boheme is one of the most beloved and enduring operas
of all time. In this guide, William Ashbrook evaluates the opera's
initial reception, the reasons for its wide appeal and Verdi's
influence on the composition. Nicholas John discusses the tortuous
evolution of the libretto over the course of three and a half years
and gives a synopsis, outlining the main themes of La boheme.
Edward Greenfield presents an essay on the musical structure and
consistency of the opera, whose 'very accessibility tends to
obscure the musical genius behind the score'. Finally, Joanna
Richardson surveys the Bohemians in Paris portrayed by Henry
Murger, whose stories formed the basis for Puccini's work. This
edition has over twenty photographs, a detailed thematic analysis
and the original libretto with a facing literal translation by
William Weaver. It also has an up-to-date bibliography,
discography, DVD and website details. The guide is essential
reading for anyone interested in the background to this opera, its
themes and composition.
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Tosca (Paperback)
Giacomo Puccini; Volume editing by Gary Khan
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R371
R321
Discovery Miles 3 210
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"Tosca," one of Puccini's greatest and most popular operas, is a
supreme example of music's power to enthrall the audience. In his
introductory essay to this guide, Bernard Williams discusses the
enduring quality of its appeal. Bernard Keeffe, in his article,
analyzes different aspects of the score, noting Puccini's special
genius for orchestration and the subtle effects that give the opera
its irresistible vitality, while Stuart Woolfe's survey of the
historical background reveals its political and nationalistic
undertones. Enriched by 25 iconic archive photographs, a detailed
thematic analysis, the original libretto with the facing literal
translation, and a section containing up-to-date discographical and
bibliographical information, this guide will prove an invaluable
companion for opera-goers and anyone wanting to delve deeper into
the genesis, history, and significance of Puccini's work.
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Rigoletto (Paperback)
Giuseppe Verdi; Volume editing by Gary Khan
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R373
R323
Discovery Miles 3 230
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"The subject cannot fail!" exulted Verdi, when recommending Victor
Hugo's play Le Roi s'amuse to his librettist. But the censors made
every effort to stop it, and the baritone was not easily convinced
that a hunchback role would suit him. Jonathan Keates gives a vivid
insight into the composition of a masterpiece. Verdi long
afterwards thought it his best work, and Roger Parker explains why.
Peter Nichols, author of several bestselling books in Italy, picks
out some of the peculiarly Italian attitudes and characters in the
opera which make it timeless - and incredibly modern.
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Simon Boccanegra (Paperback)
Giuseppe Verdi; Volume editing by Gary Khan
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R376
R326
Discovery Miles 3 260
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Verdi's Simon Boccanegra exists in two versions: that of the 1857
original and that of the 1881 revision. The texts of the libretto
of both versions are included in this guide, with a number of
essays which focus on the differences between the two. Rodolfo
Celleti provides the story's historical context, setting the events
of the real life of Simon Boccanegra against the unification of
Italy, which formed the political backdrop to the composition of
both versions of Verdi's opera. James A. Hepokoski gives a detailed
synopsis of the 1881 score, and indicates the ways in which Verdi
radically revised the original and reworked it to fit his late
style. Lastly, Desmond Shawe-Taylor discusses Verdi's attitude to
his singers, and the critical reception that performances of both
versions of the opera received. This edition contains over twenty
illustrations, a thematic guide and the texts of the libretti in
the original with literal translations. There is also a
bibilography, discography and DVD guide, together with a list of
websites that will allow the reader to explore the opera further.
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Idomeneo (Paperback)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Volume editing by Gary Khan
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R372
R321
Discovery Miles 3 210
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Mozart wrote Idomeneo when he was twenty-four years old, and the
opera was described by Albert Einstein as 'one of those works that
even a genius like Mozart could write only once in his life'. It is
one of most astonishing achievements of an altogether astonishing
career. In this newly commissioned guide, Julian Rushton explains
the special nature of the music in a detailed analysis of its
themes and development, while Nicholas Till places the opera in its
context as an expression of the Enlightenment. Gary Kahn explores
the performance history of an opera which, although largely ignored
for over a hundred and fifty years, has now taken its place as part
of the international operatic repertoire. A selection of the unique
letters between Mozart and his father written during the opera's
composition is also included.
Die Zauberfloete had its premiere at the Theater auf der Wieden in
Vienna on 30th September 1791, less than ten weeks before Mozart's
death. It has proved to be one of the most enduringly popular of
all his works and has enchanted generations of opera-goers of all
ages. In a fairy-tale allegory imbued with serious philosophical
concerns, the opera combines ethereal music with earthy comedy to
convey a message of hope for a better world. In this guide,
Nicholas Till writes about the background and genesis of the opera,
locating it on the cusp of the Enlightenment and the beginnings of
German Romanticism. Julian Rushton provides a detailed analysis of
the score with numerous musical examples highlighting its many
delights, and Hugo Shirley surveys the different and often bizarre
permutations that the opera has undergone on stage since some of
its very earliest performances through to the present day. The
guide contains the complete German libretto with a new English
translation by Kenneth Chalmers and incorporates all the dialogue
so frequently cut in performances. There are sixteen pages of
illustrations, a musical thematic guide, a discography, a
bibliography and DVD and website guides. The guide provides a
perfect companion to opera-goers wishing to extend their
understanding and increase their enjoyment of this much beloved
work.
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La Traviata (Paperback)
Giuseppe Verdi; Volume editing by Gary Khan
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R372
R303
Discovery Miles 3 030
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'La Traviata' was Giuseppe Verdi's eighteenth opera and shows him
at the height of his middle-period powers. Adapted from 'La Dame
aux Camelias' by Alexandre Dumas fils, it portrays the love between
the courtesan Violetta Valery and the young Alfredo Germont in
fashionable Parisian society, with its inevitable tragic outcome.
It had its premiere at La Fenice in Venice in 1853 and has gone on
to become one of the most performed and greatly loved of all
operas. There are articles in the guide about Verdi's preparations
for the first performances, a musical commentary, an overview of
the opera's social background and an examination of how the
libretto was adapted from Dumas's play. Also included are a survey
of important performances and performers, sixteen pages of
illustrations, a musical thematic guide, the full libretto and
English translation, a discography, bibliography and DVD and
website guides.
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Otello (Othello) (Paperback)
Giuseppe Verdi; Volume editing by Gary Khan
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R378
R309
Discovery Miles 3 090
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Otello, Verdi's penultimate opera, was composed more than a dozen
years after Aida, which he had intended to be his last work for the
stage. He was persuaded by his publisher Giulio Ricordi to work
with the librettist Arrigo Boito on an adaptation of Shakespeare's
Othello; the resulting work is one of the supreme examples of
Italian opera. Greeted with enormous enthusiasm at its premiere at
La Scala in 1887, Otello immediately went on to huge success in all
the major opera houses of the world. The richness of its musical
and dramatic inventiveness is largely unmatched in Verdi's output,
and its title role is perhaps the most demanding for the tenor in
any Italian opera. This volume contains articles describing how
Verdi was persuaded to write the opera and extracts from the
extended correspondence between Verdi and Boito during the period
of composition, as well as a detailed musical commentary and a
historical survey of important productions and performers of the
principal roles. The guide includes the full libretto with English
translation, a discography, a bibliography, and DVD and website
guides.
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Don Giovanni (Paperback)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Volume editing by Gary Khan
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R309
R266
Discovery Miles 2 660
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These Opera Guides are ideal com-panions to the opera. They provide
stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text
of each opera in English and the original. This famous opera ends,
after the hero is dragged down to hell, with a warning that evil
shall not go unpunished. 'Hardly', as Michael F. Robinson notes,
'one's usual idea of a "comic" subject!' So this guide opens with a
brief look at what is actually comic about it. David Wyn Jones
gives an overall view of the score: he shows how the musical keys
are arranged so that the dramatic momentum over two long acts is
maintained and discusses orchestration and dramatic pacing in the
most important scenes. Christopher Raeburn contributes a lively
portrait of the 'libertine librettist' who, after his Vienna
triumphs, was hounded out of London for his debts and eventually
died in New York - 'revered as the father of Italian studies in
America'. The full original text is given, with a pointed modern
translation.
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Nadine Gordimer
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R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
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