The Musical: A Concise History - Hardcover

Ganzl, Kurt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1555533116 ISBN 13: 9781555533113

Publisher: Northeastern University Press, 1997

Synopsis

A finely illustrated, engaging, international survey of the musical highlights the most popular shows of the past three centuries, from The Beggar's Opera to The Phantom of the Opera, in Europe and America. UP.

About this title

About the Author:

Kurt Ganzl, an award-winning authority on the musical, is a former opera singer, theatrical agent, and casting director. His previous books include The British Musical Theater, Ganzl's Book of the Musical Theater, The Complete "Aspects of Love," Musical Theater on Record, Song and Dance, Ganzl's Book of the Broadway Musical, and The Encyclopedia of Musical Theater, a two-volume work.

From Library Journal:

In the world of musical theater, everyone has an opinion, although few have expressed theirs as cogently and sharply as Flinn, author of the excellent What They Did for Love (LJ 6/15/89). The 26 chapters he presents here cover all aspects of the genre, from classical Greek performances to the present, without spending too much time on any one period. Students will find the general overviews useful, but the real audience for this marvelous book is the musical fan, who will adore Flinn's wealth of solid examples, particularly in the chapters on music and lyrics. How could one not like a book that unequivocally states that Lloyd Webber "has created scarce melodies for abysmal librettos and expensive, dismally choreographed extravaganzas"? Ganzl continues to churn out genre histories (Ganzl's Book of the Musical Theater, LJ 4/15/88; Ganzl's Book of the Broadway Musical, LJ 9/1/95), but there is still much to recommend this latest translation. Although he lacks Flinn's bite, Ganzl succinctly covers the same period in greater detail, with cast listings, plot summaries, and song information for select representative works throughout the years. The first third of this work, covering the premodern era, will be especially useful for theater students, but it is the latter sections that offer numerous surprises. How many serious theater works include data on The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Thanks to its wealth of trivia and sharp perspective, Flinn's is the superior work and is highly recommended for all theater collections; large subject collections will also want to add Ganzl's latest.?Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., Tex.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Northeastern University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1555533116
• ISBN 13: 9781555533113
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480