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The Story of Opera, by Richard Somerset-Ward
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"Turning the pages of this book, you will read about many remarkable people, and many weird and wonderful happenings, but you will also discover, I think, why opera is, and always has been, such an exciting phenomenon. Its story is, in its own right, a wonderful and enthralling drama." -Kiri Te Kanawa
Whether you love Mozart or Puccini; Caruso, Callas, or Pavarotti; here's a book sure to delight both longtime opera lovers and those new to this most dramatic of all musical forms.
Published on the 400th anniversary of the first performance of the very first opera, this richly illustrated volume presents a wealth of performance photographs, stage designs, and paintings. It brings the history of opera to life through the individual stories of the hundreds of people who created it-composers, librettists, impresarios, conductors, directors, and, of course, singers.
The book is organized chronologically, with sections devoted to the great Italian, German, French, English, and Russian operas and artists. The final chapter surveys the many figures-directors such as Visconti, Zeffirelli, and Wieland Wagner; performers such as Domingo, Sills, Sutherland, and Norman; and artists, from David Hockney to Robert Wilson-who have brought opera to a broad new audience in the late 20th century.
Richard Somerset-Ward is former head of Music & Arts Programming for BBC Television, where he was responsible for many opera broadcasts and recordings. He is currently an independent writer and television producer in New York.
- Sales Rank: #479834 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Harry N. Abrams
- Published on: 1998-09-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 12.00" h x 1.25" w x 9.38" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 304 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Amazon.com Review
Opera neophytes and experienced music theater fanatics alike should enjoy The Story of Opera, by Richard Somerset-Ward. This big, beautiful book is well written and lavishly illustrated with color and black-and-white photos and drawings that vividly evoke the visual elements of opera. Somerset-Ward's highly readable history of opera is incisive and remarkably complete. His detailed knowledge of the origins and evolution of the art form should answer the curiosity of some readers while whetting that of others--for the latter group, there's a suggested list for further reading at the back of the book.
The illustrations are varied; the design for the entrance of the first "Queen of the Night" is here, along with portraits of composers and a host of production photos, some of them more than a century old. There's a revealing photo of the Three Tenors and a selection of Caruso's self-caricatures. Somerset-Ward does not exclude an opera from consideration simply because it was an atrocity, so there are pictures here from both classic productions and not a few, well, flops. The book's chronological arrangement, from the debut of "Il Dramma per Musica" in the late 16th century to late-20th-century productions (including a chapter on popular musical theater), exposes readers to opera's development over its 400-year history.
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's foreword to the book is an added treat for her fans. In it, she sums up the experience of The Story of Opera: "Turning the pages of this book, you will read about many remarkable people, and many weird and wonderful happenings, but you will also discover, I think, why opera is, and always has been, such an exciting phenomenon. Its story is, in its own right, a wonderful and enthralling drama."
From Publishers Weekly
In the late 16th century, a group of Florentine poets, intellectuals and musicians formed an academy dedicated to developing a new musical style in imitation of ancient Greek drama. Their creation, il dramma per musica (drama expressed through music), was soon transformed into a popular art form known as opera. In his admirable history of this "multimedia entertainment," Somerset-Ward, formerly BBC Television's head of music and arts programming, shows how opera quickly gained favor in the Renaissance courts of northern Italy as well as in Naples, France, England and central Europe. He then follows it through the Age of Enlightenment; the Romantic Movement; the 19th century in Italy and Paris; numerous nationalist trends; the verismo movement in Italy; the varieties of popular musical theater; and into the 20th century. He gives his story a lively focus by concentrating on the extraordinary personalities who have shaped opera during its 400-year historyAcomposers, librettists, singers, conductors, patrons, impresarios, set designers, stage directors, even audiences. With the rise of the stage director, Somerset-Ward contends, drama has become as important as music, thereby moving opera closer to genuine theater and making ours the "first truly great age of opera." Innovative staging, he notes, also breathes new life into old warhorses and is often what makes avant-garde opera palatable to audiences not attuned to atonality and dissonance. If Somerset-Ward's writing rarely transcends the workmanlike, this introduction is still accessible, informative and, with 237 illustrations, 118 in color, eye-catching. BOMC selection.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Opera seems to generate more coffee-table tomes than any other subjectalways beautiful, usually interesting, and occasionally informative. This one manages to succeed on all three counts. Somerset-Ward, the former head of music and arts programming for BBC Television, has attempted to provide a comprehensive history of the art in time for its 400th birthday (the first opera performance, of Dafne, took place in Florence in February 1598), and if hes a bit late raising the curtain, no one has real cause to complain. For in addition to requisitely gorgeous illustrations and photos, Somerset-Ward has written an authoritative 300-page text tracing the history of opera from its origins in ancient Greek dramaturgy and Baroque court spectacles to its golden age in the 19th century and its many transformations over the past 30 years. In a book that will appeal to all opera fans, Somerset- Wards history will manage to attract the serious musicologist and historian. (Book-of-the-Month Club selection) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Great Text or Table Top Book on the History of Opera
By Picasa
I am having such a wonderful time reading this book in my History of Opera. I have been reading this book since the start of January 2013
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
A fascinating and comprehensive book of Opera ever written
By A Customer
This is a fascinating and comprehensive book of opera ever written. A lot of beautiful pictures. The biding, printing quality is top notch. Like an art. By just looking at this book, you want to go to opera. Only if this book automatically plays the opera when I open each page... However, there is no limitation in your imagination :-) "Easy to understand" explanations - such as "What is bel canto ?". One disappointment is that it is not as complete or detailed. For example, Mozart's unfinished opera, Zaide, was not mentioned at all. But the aria, "Ruhe sanft mein holdes Leben" in the opera is quite famous (and really beautiful), and people like me who want to know about it will be disappointed. Well, this is nitpick. I would consider this book as the one that should be in every music (opera) lover's bookshelf.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
A lot of info!
By JK
This was very informative book to read. It's not too hard at all, easy and fun to read. This book helped me understand the material for my class much better. :)
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