The Penguin Opera Guide

Holden, Amanda and Kenyon, Nicholas and Walsh, Stephen

ISBN 10: 0670812935 / ISBN 13: 9780670812936

Published by Penguin, 1995

About this Item

Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine.

Seller Inventory # CHL7132784

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Penguin Opera Guide
• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670812935
• ISBN 13: 9780670812936
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Used; Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

This reference work draws on "The Viking Opera Guide" (which covers over 1500 operas) to present the major composers and works of four centuries of opera's history, from Peri's "Dafne" ("the first opera") through Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Wagner, to the most acclaimed composers of today. An outline of the musical career of over 150 composers, and an assessment of their contribution to opera, is followed by entries on more than 450 operas, providing details of the cast, discussion of the background and sources of the work, a synopsis of the plot and a musical analysis directing the listener to points of interest. Extensive entries are dedicated to the most prolific major composers, such as Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Handel and Donizetti, but the guide also covers many less-celebrated figures, as well as operas that are rarely performed but are nevertheless widely available on recordings. The guide aims for a broad and catholic approach, covering not only the great works of the mainstream repertoire, but also the various precursors and early forms of opera, the Savoy operas of Sullivan, the operettas of Lehar and Offenbach, and the musicals of Gershwin, Rodgers and Sondheim.