
History of Opera for Beginners
Ron David(Author)
For Beginners (Publisher)
Published on 26. November 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-1-934389-79-9 (ISBN)
Description
Opera For Beginners is a humorous, irreverent little book that starts with the radical assumption that Opera is just plain ol' music. Not snob music. Not uppity music. Gettin' down music! Italian Rock'n'roll, R&B Gospel, let-it-all-hang-out music. "If you must know the truth", David writes, "in Detroit where I grew up, there weren't a lot of Opera houses. I was brought up on Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Elvis the Pelvis, the Drifters, Platters, Ella, Sinatra, Miles, Coltrane, Mahalia, Beatles, Stones, Aretha ... in other words ... Real music! Which is why I'm the perfect person to introduce you to Opera". The book builds from the similarity between specific Opera singers and "normal" singers (e.g., Maria Callas/Billie Holiday; Caruso/Mahalia Jackson; Benjamino Gigli/Smokey Robinson), points out the essentially Operatic styles of many pop singers, and the profound similarity between Opera and Gospel singing. (It's no accident that African-American sopranos are singing in Opera houses all over the world!). Opera For Beginners explains the differences between Italian and German Opera - it's more than just the language - and why you don't have to understand Italian, German, French or Rap to enjoy Opera. David's enthusiasm and wit are sure to entice many Opera-haters to give Opera a chance. And Paul Gordon's spot-on cartoons illustrate the text, carry on dialogues with it, wisecrack it, create stories alongside it, sprinkle it lavishly with motifs...enough!
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 151 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
291 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-934389-79-9 (9781934389799)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Ron David, a former editor-in-chief of the For Beginners series, is also the author of Toni Morrison Explained: A Reader's Road Map to the Novels (Random House, 2000). Previous works for For Beginners include Arabs & Israel For Beginners, Jazz For Beginners, and Opera For Beginners. Ron has been a guest lecturer on all of these subjects across the United States, and he has been awarded a NJ State Council for the Arts fellowship for his novel-in-progress, The Lebanese Book of the Dead. He lives in Kihei, Hawaii, with his wife, the designer Susan David.