The Barefoot Books of Stories from the Opera

ISBN 10: 1782852530 / ISBN 13: 9781782852537

Published by Barefoot Books, 2015

Cover may have light wear, pages in very good condition and binding is sturdy; may have other light shelf wear or creases. May have notes or highlighting. Seller Inventory # EVV.1782852530.VG

Synopsis:

With vivid language, lots of facts for music lovers and beautiful illustrations, this expansive gift book introduces youngsters to seven of the world's best-loved operas in a delightful way.

From Kirkus Reviews: Seven operas, chosen for simplicity and relative absence of death and violence, receive lighthearted retellings, along with brief character and composer notes. The contents encompass nearly 200 years of opera history, from Gluck's 18th-century Orpheus and Eurydice, featuring an unexpectedly happy ending, to Benjamin Britten's pathos-laden The Little Sweep, with selections ranging from somber (Wagner's Flying Dutchman) to giddy (Rimski-Korsakov's Christmas Eve) in between. Husain brightens her plot summaries with flashes of humorthe usually-grim Furies respond to Orpheus's pleas by ``smiling rather rustily,'' while Gretel greets the Crunch Witch's talk of boy soup and stew with ``That's disgusting''and tucks in occasional snatches of lyric or references to singing to remind readers that opera is a musical genre. Mayhew introduces characters and catches each story's high spots with tableaux and individual portraits of gorgeously costumed figures. This is pleasant preparatory reading for a night at the opera, although it is skimpy next to The Random House Book of Opera Stories (1998, not reviewed) or other heftier guides. (Anthology. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Barefoot Books of Stories from the Opera
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Publication Date: 2015
Binding: Soft cover
Illustrator: Mayhew, James
Condition: very_good