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List of Reviews of 85
Operas (By
Title) or
(By
Composer)
The
Collector's Guide to Books on Opera (PART
II)
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Listed on this
page and on PART II are numerous useful books about
Opera -- opera composers, opera singers, opera
librettos, guides to opera and reference books. All of
the titles are also linked to the Amazon
Books website, where you can
read more about the books and even buy
them. In the interest of full disclosure, you
should know that I am an Amazon
Books Associate.
REFERENCE/GENERAL
INTEREST |
PLOT
SYNOPSES/LIBRETTI |
COMPOSERS
| MOZART
PUCCINI
| VERDI
| WAGNER
| SINGERS
PERFORMANCE
-- REVIEWS |
BOOKS
ABOUT RECORDS/VIDEOS |
CAMBRIDGE
OPERA HANDBOOKS
ENGLISH
OPERA HANDBOOKS |
THE
OPERA GUIDES
JUST FOR
FUN
REFERENCE
/GENERAL INTEREST
- Annals
of the Metropolitan Opera, by Metropolitan Opera
Guild
- The
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (Oxford
Paperback Reference), by John Hamilton Warrack, Ewan West
-- a handy desk reference.
- Ejs
: Discography of the Edward J. Smith Recordings 'the
Golden Age of Opera, 1956-1971' (Discographies,
No 54), by William Shaman, William J. Collins, Calvin M.
Goodwin -- Eddie Smith was THE pioneer in preserving rare
live opera performances from across the decades, from
Nellie Melba bidding farewell to her public at Covent
Garden in 1926 to Stella and Corelli opening the '61/'62
La Scala season in Verdi's rarely heard Battaglia
di Legnano. Much of our knowledge of some of the
greatest singers this century has heard would be
incomplete without the extraordinary performances Smith
preserved for posterity.
- New
Grove Dictionary of Opera (4Vols.)
[HARDCOVER EDITION], by Stanley Sadie
(Editor)
- New
Grove Dictionary of Opera (4Vols.)
[SOFTCOVER EDITION], by Stanley Sadie
(Editor) -- for the economically thrifty!
- The
Opera Companion, by George Martin, Everett
Raymond Kinstler -- The best one-volume introduction to
Opera and the standard repertoire; detailed synopses
provide careful descriptions of musical highlights keyed
to the flow of the plot; invaluable introductory section
tackles essential terms and performance traditions; also
includes a wonderful section describing the different
types (fach) of the singing voice and how they are used.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- The
Oxford Dictionary of Opera by John Warrack, Ewan
West
- The
Definitive Kobbe's Opera Book, by Gustav Kobbe,
Earl of Harewood (Editor) -- a beloved compendium of
Opera's greatest composers and their works providing date
of composition, date of premiere and performance history
for each work.
- The
New Kobbe's Opera Book (1997), by Anthony Peattie
and Earl of Harewood (Editors)
- An
Invitation to the Opera, by John Louis
DiGaetani
- The
La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera, by Giorgio
Bagnoli, Graham Fawcett (Translator)
- Unsung
Voices : Opera and Musical Narrative in the Nineteenth
Century (Princeton Studies in Opera), by Carolyn
Abbate
- The
Viking Opera Guide, by Amanda Holden, Nicholas
Kenyon, Stephen Walsh (Editor), Colin Davis -- A
combination record guide and historical survey of the
greatest operas. Not tops in either field, but useful as
a one-volume reference. Amazon.com shows this book
currently out of stock, but keep checking. They may also
be able to special order it for you.
to the top
PLOT
SYNOPSES/LIBRETTI
- The
Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas (Vol.
1), by John W. Freeman (Editor), Metropolitan
Opera
- The
Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas (Vol.
2), by John W. Freeman, et al.
- 100
Great Operas and Their Stories, by Henry W.
Simon
- The
Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan, by
Arthur Sullivan, W. S. Gilbert, Ian Bradley (Editor)
- Three
Mozart Libretti : The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni
and Cosi Fan Tutte, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Robert Pack, Marjorie Lelash
- Sing
Me a Story : The Metropolitan Opera's Book of Opera
Stories for Children, by Jane Rosenberg, Luciano
Pavarotti (Introduction)
to the top
COMPOSERS
- Handel's
Operas, 1704-1726, by Winton Dean, J. Merrill
Knapp
- Janacek's
Operas : A Documentary Account by the Composer,
by John Tyrrell
MOZART:
- Memoirs
of Lorenzo Da Ponte (Da Capo Press Music Reprint
Series), by Lorenzo Da Ponte, Elisabeth Abbott
(Translator), Arthur Livingston (Editor) -- Da
Ponte was not only one of the greatest
librettists to ever live, he was a fascinating character
who lived a very long and active life. This book is a
great read, parts are very funny and he has interesting
things to say about all of the composers he worked with
(besides Mozart!), the singers he worked (and sometimes
fought) with, the women he loved and the many
historically important people he met during his long
life.
- Cosi
Fan Tutte : Mozart (English National Opera Guide, No
23), by John Nicholas (Editor)
- W.A.
Mozart, Cosi Fan Tutte (Cambridge Opera
Handbooks), by Bruce Alan Brown
- W.A.
Mozart : Die Zauberfloete (Cambridge Opera
Handbooks), by Peter Branscombe
- W.A.
Mozart : Le Nozze Di Figaro (Cambridge Opera
Handbooks), by Tim Carter
- The
Mozart-Da Ponte Operas : The Cultural and Musical
Background to Le Nozze Di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi
Fan Tutte, by Andrew Steptoe
to the top
PUCCINI:
to the top
VERDI:
- Analyzing
Opera : Verdi and Wagner (California Studies in 19th
Century Music), by Carolyn Abbate, Roger
Parker (Editor)
- Encounters
with Verdi, by Marcello Conati, Richard Stokes,
Julian Budden
- The
Operas of Verdi : From Oberto to Rigoletto (Vol. 1,
Revised), by Julian Budden
- The
Operas of Verdi : From Il Trovatore to La Forza Del
Destino (Vol. 2, Revised), by Julian Budden
- The
Operas of Verdi : From Don Carlos to Falstaff (Vol. 3,
Revised), by Julian Budden
- Verdi
(Master Musicians Series), by Julian
Budden
- The
Verdi-Boito Correspondence, by Marcello Conati,
Mario Medici (Editor)
- Verdi,
Requiem (Cambridge Music Handbooks), by
David Rosen
to the top
WAGNER:
- Analyzing
Opera : Verdi and Wagner (California Studies in 19th
Century Music), by Carolyn Abbate, Roger
Parker (Editor)
- Penetrating
Wagner's Ring : An Anthology (Da Capo
Paperback), by John Louis Di Gaetani
(Editor)
- The
Perfect Wagnerite : A Commentary on the Nibelung's
Ring, by George Bernard Shaw
- Opera
and Drama, by Richard Wagner, William Ashton
Ellis (Translator)
- Wagner
on Music and Drama : A Compendium of Richard Wagner's
Prose Works (A Da Capo Paperback), by
Richard Wagner, Albert Harry Goldman, Evert. Sprinchorn
-- This book MAY be a better
bargain than Opera and Drama
(above), since the translations look to be better, but
check in a bookstore first to see if the excerpted works
are COMPLETE.
- Richard
Wagner : The Man, His Mind and His Music, by
Robert W. Gutman
- Wagner
in Performance, by Barry Millington, Stewart
Spencer (Editor)
- Richard
Wagner : Der Ring Des Nibelungen, Goetterdaemmerung,
Siegfried, Die Walkuere, Das Rheingold (Boxed
Set), by Rudolph Sabor, Richard Wagner
OR YOU CAN BUY EACH VOLUME
SEPARATELY:
- Bayreuth
: A History of the Wagner Festival, by Frederic
Spotts
- Wagner
and Russia (Cambridge Studies in Russian
Literature), by Rosamund Bartlett
to the top
SINGERS
to the top
TOP
| REFERENCE/GENERAL
INTEREST
PLOT
SYNOPSES/LIBRETTI |
COMPOSERS
| MOZART
PUCCINI
| VERDI
| WAGNER
| SINGERS
PERFORMANCE
-- REVIEWS |
BOOKS
ABOUT RECORDS/VIDEOS
CAMBRIDGE
OPERA HANDBOOKS
ENGLISH
OPERA HANDBOOKS |
THE
OPERA GUIDES
JUST FOR
FUN
The Collector's Guide to Books
on Opera (PART II)
Send comments, questions, and suggestions
to:
geo.riggs
@verizon.net
This Page Last Revised 1/16/2003
Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by Geoffrey
Riggs | All rights reserved.
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