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jazzy_daveAmanda Holden,Nicholas Kenyon etc. "The Penguin Opera Guide" (Penguin)
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From 1995 this large paperback book has more than 150 composers profiled. Also, there are entries on more than 450 operas, providing details of the cast, a discussion of the work's background, plot synopsis, and more. A reference work to have by your side when you want to explore an opera new to you and surprisingly include s some modern composers such as Philip Glass and John Adams.
What we see in the opera house is a t1ny fraction of all opera, as a glance through The Penguin Opera Guide demonstrates. This is a guide to opera indexed by composer. so that other partners in opera's collaborative processes including those producers and designers - barely get a look in. Once again, this book's implicit suggestion is that opera exists first and foremost 1n its scored form, and only secondly in the theatre. Perhaps this kind of encyclopedia has to distort its subject in order to keep it manageable, and the ephemeral nature of opera in performance doesn't lend itself readily to this format; but still, an acknowledgment of theatrical reality wouldn't be out of place. Aside from that minor gripe, this is still a good reference book to start your journey into opera.
.
From 1995 this large paperback book has more than 150 composers profiled. Also, there are entries on more than 450 operas, providing details of the cast, a discussion of the work's background, plot synopsis, and more. A reference work to have by your side when you want to explore an opera new to you and surprisingly include s some modern composers such as Philip Glass and John Adams.
What we see in the opera house is a t1ny fraction of all opera, as a glance through The Penguin Opera Guide demonstrates. This is a guide to opera indexed by composer. so that other partners in opera's collaborative processes including those producers and designers - barely get a look in. Once again, this book's implicit suggestion is that opera exists first and foremost 1n its scored form, and only secondly in the theatre. Perhaps this kind of encyclopedia has to distort its subject in order to keep it manageable, and the ephemeral nature of opera in performance doesn't lend itself readily to this format; but still, an acknowledgment of theatrical reality wouldn't be out of place. Aside from that minor gripe, this is still a good reference book to start your journey into opera.
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Date: 2021-01-19 12:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-01-19 05:02 pm (UTC)