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Books : Entertainment : Music : Musical Genres : Opera : Composers
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Commentary on and a concise, lucid interpretation of the opera world's most complex masterwork, expanded from the author's popular intermission talks during Met Opera broadcasts.
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A profoundly searching investigation that reveals for the first time the philosophical foundations of Wagner's art
Richard Wagner's devotees have ranged from the subtlest minds (Proust) to the most brutal (Hitler). The enduring fascination of his works arises from his singular fusion of musical innovation and theatrical daring, but also from his largely overlooked engagement with the boldest investigations of modern philosophy.
Now, in this radically clarifying book, Bryan Magee traces the Wagner's involvement in the intellectual quests of his age, from his youthful embrace of revolutionary socialism, to a Schopenhauerian rejection of the world as illusion, to the near-Buddhist resignation of his final years. Mapping the influence of ideas on Wagner's art, Magee shows how abstract thought can permeate musical work and stimulate creations of great power and beauty. And he unflinchingly confronts the Wagner whose paranoia, egocentricity, and anti-Semitism are as repugnant as his achievements are glorious.
At once a biography of the composer, an overview of his times, an account of 19th century opera, and an insight into the intellectual and technical aspects of music, Magee's lucid study offers the best explanation of W. H. Auden's judgment that Wagner, for all his notorious difficulties, was "perhaps the greatest genius that ever lived.
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English National Opera Guides are ideal companions to the opera. They provide stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text of each opera in English and the original. In this Guide, Julian Budden reviews the difficulties that faced the management that had commissioned La Traviata and how, in some previously unpublished letters, Verdi fought their views on casting the leading lady. Denis Arnold contributes a musical commentary. April FitzLyon discusses the social background of the "lady of the camellias" in fact, fiction and on the stage, and Nicholas John compares the libretto with the play to show how skilfully it was adapted to for the operatic stage.
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Hailed as a masterpiece for its original interpretations of Beethoven's life and music, this edition takes into account the latest information and literature. Includes a 30-page bibliographical essay, numerous illustrations, and a full-color pictorial biography of the composer.
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By the time he created these images, Rackham was England's leading illustrator, famous throughout the world for his interpretations of fairy tales and myths. These illustrations from the original 1911 and 1912 editions, widely regarded as the greatest representations of Wagner's drama, constitute Rackham's masterworks. 64 full-page color images and 9 vignettes.
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0riginating at the National Theatre of Great Britain, Amadeus was the recipient of both the Evening Standard Drama Award and the Theatre Critics Award. In the United States, the play won the coveted Tony Award and went on to become a critically acclaimed major motion picture winning eight Oscars, including Best Picture.
Now, this extraordinary work about the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is available with a new preface by Peter Shaffer and a new introduction by the director of the 1998 Broadway revival, Sir Peter Hall. Amadeus is a must-have for classical music buffs, theatre lovers, and aficionados of historical fiction.
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English National Opera Guides are ideal companions to the opera. They provide stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text of each opera in English and the original. Aida is, for most of us, the quintessence of Ancient Egypt but it is certainly not just for archaeologists! Michael Rose points out that it is really about patriotism—an issue of burning importance to Verdi and his contemporaries. Music critic William Mann reflects that even a short look at the score reveals subtleties that repay careful listening. And Verdi's own letters show the germs of the opera grow from suggestion to creation.
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Norman Del Mar (1919-1994) was universally recognised as a leading authority on the music of Richard Strauss, and his masterly three-volume study of his life and works remains a classic. Volume Three spans from 1934 to Strauss's death in 1949, taking in the last five operas, the late instrumental music, all the songs from early youth to the Vier letzte Lieder, and concluding with eight appendixes of works, dates and opus numbers, and a meticulous index. 'Deploying a well-nigh encyclopaedic knowledge, Mr Del Mar acquits himself brilliantly of his task of disentangling and reassembling the numerous strands that make up the backcloth of poetry and philosophy which Strauss, while not always understanding every intricacy, yet needed as a constant reference map for his composing. The three volumes of this magnificent book should be studied by all lovers of the late-romantic music, amateurs and professionals alike ... a monumental achievement.' Times Literary Supplement 'A brilliant and copiously analytical study ... a constant fascination.' Guardian
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While Puccini wrote only twelve operas during a long lifethree of them one-acters designed to be performed togetherhe has to be ranked today as the world’s most popular composer of opera. His La Bohème and Tosca are more frequently performed in the major opera houses than works by other composers, and Madame Butterfly and Manon Lescaut rank not far behind. What is the explanation for Puccini's enormous success? How do his operas work as music and drama? What was he like to contemporaries such as Verdi, Toscanini, and Caruso? Charles Osborne, author of highly successful Complete Operas of Verdi and Complete Operas of Mozart, here analyzes the entire Puccini oeuvrefrom Tosca and Turandot to the less-often performed Edgar, La Fanciulla del West, and La Rondine. His fourfold approachlinking biography with musical, textual, and dramatic analysisis especially valuable for Puccini, who revealed many of his personal contradictions in his music and whose sense of detail can be appreciated by close study of the scores and characters. For the legions of Puccini lovers everywhere, this guide to his life and work can serve as an ideal reference source and opera companion.
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Each Opera Guide contains the complete text of an opera in the original, with a parallel English translation, introductory essays, numerous musical examples and illustrations. 'The subject cannot fail!' exulted Verdi, when recommending Victor Hugo's play, Le Roi s'amuse, to his librettist. But the censors made every effort to stop it... and the baritone was not easily convinced that a hunchback role would suit him. Jonathan Keates gives a vivid insight into the composition of a masterpiece. Verdi long afterwards thought it was his best work, and Roger Parker explains why. Peter Nichols, author of several best-selling books in Italy, picks out some of the peculiarly Italian attitudes and characters in the opera which make it timeless—and unnervingly modern.
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The English National Opera Guides were originally conceived in partnership with the English National Opera and edited by Nicholas John, the ENO's dramaturg, who died tragically in an accident in the Alps. Most of the guides are devoted to a single opera, which is described in detail—with many articles that cover its history and information about the composer and his times. The complete libretto is included in both the original language and in a modern singing translation—except where the opera was written in English. Each has a thematic guide to the most important musical themes in musical notation and each guide is lavishly illustrated. They also contain a bibliography and a discography which is updated at each reprint. The ENO guides are widely regarded as the best series of their kind and excellent value.
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Long before Puccini wrote his masterpiece, the tale of the poor Japanese girl abandoned by her foreign lover had been taken up by numerous Western writers as part of the wave of Japonisme in late-19th-century Europe. But was there a "real" Madame Butterfly? Following the tragic trail back to its roots in Nagasaki, Jan van Rij believes he’s found the answer. Opera lovers will delight in the revelation, and learn not only about the cultural forces and personal fixations that inspired this popular work but why many Japanese remain unconvinced.
A long-time opera buff, Jan van Rij served as an E.U. diplomat in Japan, highly regarded for his intimate understanding of Japanese-European relations.
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