Opera Books

24 Italian Songs and Arias - Medium High Voice (Book/CD): Medium High Voice - Book/CD

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: G. Schirmer, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $8.84

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

? 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love the fact that this music anthology now comes with a CD for practicing purposes. It makes it fun to rehearse.

Editorial Review:

For well over a century, the G. Schirmer edition of 24 Italian Songs and Arias of the 17th and 18th Centuries has introduced millions of beginning singers to serious Italian vocal literature. Offered in two accessible keys (ISBN 0793515130 for Medium High Voice; ISBN 0793515149 for Medium Low Voice) suitable for all singers, it is likely to be the first publication a voice teacher will ask a first-time student to purchase. The classic Parisotti realizations result in rich, satisfying accompaniments which allow singers pure musical enjoyment. For ease of practice, carefully prepared accompaniments are also recorded on CD by John Keene, a New York-based concert accompanist and vocal coach who has performed throughout the United States for radio and television. Educated at the University of Southern California, Keene has taught accompanying at the university level and collaborated with Gian Carlo Menotti and Thea Musgrave on productions of their operas.

Il Divo: Our Music, Our Journey, Our Words

Il Divo

List Price: $29.95 By: Headline Book Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 9 new & used starting at $32.89

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Il Divo: Our Music, Our Journey, Our Words 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The book is well written and the individual stories of each Il Divo singer brings the reader closer to a better appreciation of their music.

Best Book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this book as these 4 guys are the best. I have all there CD'S and Videos and this book was very interesting. I hope to be able to go see them in person when in the USA. I have to say that this is the best idea Simon Cowell ever came up with. I would recommend the book and vidoe's to everyone.

Phyllis Rutkowski
Westland Mi

Editorial Review:

In late 2004 Il Divo burst onto the music scene with their unique blend of opera and popular music. The group has since conquered the hearts of fans and the charts of nations around the world, selling 18 million albums worldwide and scoring an incredible 36 number-one records. This insider’s account features exclusive and intimate interviews with each member, as well as stunning, previously unreleased photographs. Rounded out by an afterword from the group's founder, Simon Cowell, this is an account no fan will want to be without.

Metropolitain Opera: 2009 Wall Calendar

Metropolitan Opera

Amazon Price: $11.19 List Price: $13.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Universe Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $9.37

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Editorial Review:

This calendar features stunning color photography that captures unforgettable scenes from, and stars of, Met Opera performances, including Madama Butterfly, Aida, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Carmen.

Rent

Jonathan Larson

Amazon Price: $28.37 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperEntertainment Amazon Marketplace: 69 new & used starting at $5.65

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 111 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Good Coffee Table Book 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I wasn't a big fan of "Rent" until I saw the movie, and when I read this book, it gave me a bigger meaning to the play/movie.

Warning: This is just for fans of "Rent". Those who haven't seen the movie will get into the story of how it was made, but not as much the screenplay.

Editorial Review:

This is by far the must-get theater book of the year. With dazzling punk graphics that will quickly win book industry awards, the volume contains the entire libretto of the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical about love and loyalty among starving AIDS-stricken artists in New York's East Village. But editors Evelyn McDonnell and Katherine Silberger wisely understand that the story of the show's creation is as compelling as the musical itself--so more than half of this volume is devoted to an oral history of the composer/lyricist/librettist Jonathan Larson, who came to New York hoping to revolutionize musical theater--then died of an aortic aneurysm the night of the show's final preview. It's an event book for an event musical.

Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera

Fred Plotkin

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hyperion Amazon Marketplace: 82 new & used starting at $2.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Glad to see this book well-received 5 out of 5 stars.
26 of 29 people found this review helpful.

It is most heartening to see that opera lovers and novices almost universally agree that this book is excellent, informative, and illuminating. I was maybe 14 when I asked a salesperson in a bookstore "do you have a book that will teach me about opera?" Without hesitation, I was directed to "Opera 101".

I was skeptical. However, I am no longer!

Mr. Plotkin is experienced, informed, and well-read. So as not to belabour the structure of the book (since there are many descriptions of it) I'll say that the idea of walking someone through 11 operas is excellent. That Mr. Plotkin picks a particular recording (with commentary per track) is an indespensible fusion with the book.

That is to say Mr. Plotkin has carefully chosen themes, operas, and what he believes to be superior recordings of the above mentioned as illustrations of what opera can be to the average listener. His decisions on recordings are in no way arbitrary, and he takes special care to choose recordings more easily found than those that might be "better" but are less easily found outside of major metropolitan areas.

Let's remember, the original version of this book was written before the internet made just about any recording available in any area. He admits that sometimes he's arbitrary (especially with his recommendation for Il Barbiere di Siviglia...YUCK) but he always explains his good reasons for choosing inferior performances on disc. His are not "Gospel" recommendations, but those he thinks best illustrate the power of opera in recorded form, customs, and the sheer beauty of the human voice.

Beyond that, Mr. Plotkin performs a yeoman's task of qualifying the different kinds of voices in opera, provides an 90+ page history of opera, and gives the average American a primer in the esoteric "etiquette" of attending an opera performance.

Invaluable for its tutorial format, universal as a detailed introduction; "Opera 101" is a MUST for an opera lover's collection.

Editorial Review:

Just as the title says, this is a basic primer on what opera is, what to look for and what to listen to. There is nothing stuffy in Plotkin's style, which is clear and idiomatic. The book also boasts a foreword by supertenor Placido Domingo.

100 Great Operas And Their Stories: Act-By-Act Synopses

Henry W. Simon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

If you only buy one book on opera... 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 17 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book for the opera novice or seasoned opera affectionado. Going to an upcoming opera? Reading the synopsis will refresh one's memory or help the novice to better understand what is going on by acts. This is a well written book and a true bargain for the extensive information provided. I have purchased one for myself and another for a friend. A great gift book!

A rare and USEFUL guide 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I took an intrest in Opera and wanted to discover more about it. To my dismay, when I read reviews in the papers, I found nearlly nothing of value because they never did the simple job of brifely explaining what the story was actual about. That's why this book is great; it gives a brief summary of what the Opera is about act by act. Thus, this guide is a great tool to find a story that you like; however, one should still look into a local review of an Opera to see how the singers perform and the rendition is done; this book gives reviews in the general.

Editorial Review:

An invaluable guide for both casual opera fans and afficionados, this volume contains act-by-act descriptions of operatic works ranging from the early seventeenth century masterworks of Monteverdi and Purcell to the modern classics of Menotti and Britten. Written in a lively anecdotal style, entries include character descriptions, historical background, and much more.

Who Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? (Who Was...?)

Yona Zeldis McDonough

Amazon Price: $4.99 List Price: $4.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Grosset & Dunlap Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $0.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great History Series For Kids! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The "Who Was..." series is a wonderful way to get kids to read about history. They'll learn different & interesting things in these books they won't get anywhere else. My children asked for them for Christmas! They can't put them down. I homeschool and these are a great tool for learning. My 11 year old reads them on her own very well and my 7 yr. old reads them with a little help. Highly recommend.

Editorial Review:

Born in Austria in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his first piece of music, a minuet, when he was just five years old! Soon after, he was performing for kings and emperors. Although he died at the young age of thirty-five, Mozart left a legacy of more than 600 works. This fascinating biography charts the musician's extraordinary career and personal life while painting a vivid cultural history of eighteenth-century Europe. Black-and-white illustrations on every spread explore such topics as the history of opera and the evolution of musical instruments. There is also a timeline and a bibliography.

Illustrated by Carrie Robbins.
Cover illustration by Nancy Harrison.

The Infinite Variety of Music

BERNSTEIN LE

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Still excellent!! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Inspite of having been written so many years ago, these talks are still valid and outstanding.- I am a commentator on Music on Television, and Leonard Bernstein has been, and continues to be, my model and idol in this respect.- Very recommended indeed.-

Editorial Review:

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Broadway: The American Musical

Michael Kantor and Laurence Maslon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you enjoyed the PBS series Broadway: The American Musical but wanted a bit more detail and substance, try curling up with the companion book to the series. Expanded from Michael Kantor's script by Laurence Maslon, it follows the same six-part structure but its 470 pages give it more space to stretch out with the history of key musicals and the historical context behind them, or add significant trends such as revivals. What makes the book easy to pick up from the coffee table are the many subheads, the photographs (e.g., Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady) and poster art, and the sidebars and supplemental features. Occupying a page or two, the sidebars delve into such topics as original cast albums or shows that were glossed over or ignored in the series, such as Gypsy and 1776. A particularly effective use of the text is reprinting the lyrics of certain songs, examining the structure of "Soliloquy," providing historical annotations for "You're the Top," and illustrating "Broadway Baby" with pictures of Ethel Schulte on stage in Follies and 50 years earlier. Archive sections offer vintage essays from key figures (Sondheim on Kern, Hart on Rodgers), and Who's Who blurbs spotlight performers or creators (Fanny Brice, Barbara Cook, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald). While Broadway: The American Musical can't compete with more encyclopedic work on the subject, it's an enjoyable and worthwhile reference overall, and does provide a year-by-year list of significant shows, a selected bibliography, and maps of the theater district ca. 1928 and 2001. --David Horiuchi

A Soprano on Her Head: Right-Side-Up Reflections on Life and Other Performances

Eloise Ristad

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Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

(Foreword, by Lorin Hollander, concert pianist)

Eloise Ristad deals here with complex problems which torment and cripple so many of our most creative and talented people, and she does so with compassion, wisdom, and wit. The problem of stage fright, for instance, is a suffering of epidemic proportions in our society, and involves modalities of thought and projections that rob spontaneity and enthusiasm in artistic performance.

Those interested in creative education have long felt that an entirely new, holistic and nurturing process of allowing individuals to discover and express themselves is needed if our educational system is to avoid the neuroses and creative blocks of the past generation. This book illuminates through its conversational style the destructive inhibitions, fears, and guilt experienced by all of us as we fail to break through to creativity. This story is told to me day after day in conservatories and college campuses around the world. Indeed I felt at times that she was telling of my own most petty and debilitating fears.

But what is important, A Soprano on Her Head supplies answers and methods for overcoming these universal psychological blocks--methods that have not only been proven in her own studio, but which trace back through history to the oldest and wisest systems of understanding the integration of mind and body. The work bears scrutiny both scientifically and holistically.

This is a wonderful book. Read it. You are not alone.