A Song of Love and Death: The Meaning of Opera

An analysis of opera covers the sources of its myths, current controversies, and opera's place in history, and covers major singers and composers

A Song of Love and Death: The Meaning of Opera

Graywolf's updated edition of this classic book on opera includes a new afterword by author Peter Conrad.

"This is an astonishing book. I know of no other opera survey in English (or any other language) tossed off with such exuberant verbal virtuosity."--The New York Times Book Review

"Perhaps the most intellectually stimulating book on the subject in the past thirty years."--Publishers Weekly

Arguing that opera's deepest roots lie in our most fundamental human rituals, Peter Conrad shows us the faces of the gods that still hover over the pageant--gods of music, abandon, evil, love. then, with the dizzying skill of a practiced literary and cultural critic, the author takes us on a ride through the repertoire of operas past and present. Finally, he brings us to the climactic moment of the form: the performance. We meet the great personalities--from Puccini to Bernstein to Domingo--in their element, and see anew how their celebrity and their artistry affect us all.

"A Song of Love and Death will give pleasure to people who are learning to love opera as well as those who already know what they love."--Richard Sennett