Opera
A Beginner's Guide
1st Edition
Published on 1. December 2012
176 pages
978-1-78074-172-7 (ISBN)
Description
Opera is often dismissed as outdated and excessive, and perceived to be characterised by excessive passions, sumptuous costumes, and ill-mannered divas. In reality, however, operas address the most fundamental and universal of human concerns - love, death, jealousy, greed, and power. Revealing the diverse reasons behind opera's lasting appeal, opera champion and expert Alexandra Wilson provides a lucid and engaging introduction to the agendas that have governed its composition, production and reception over the last four centuries, and explains the reasons behind its enduring appeal.
Reviews / Votes
"Alexandra Wilson is a gifted writer and has packed a world of history, culture, and music into her new opera guide." * Helen Greenwald - New England Conservatory * "In her admirably compact introduction to opera, Wilson outlines the history of this most ambitious of art forms, while going on to place opera in a broad social, political and cultural context... packed with richly resonant material" * Daniel Snowman - Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, University of Londo * "As useful to students of opera as to the curious amateur, Alex Wilson's 'Beginner's Guide' makes a huge contribution to the popularisation of a 'living art' " * Clair Rowden - Lecturer and Undergraduate Admissions Tutor, School of Music, Cardiff University *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
File size
1,91 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-78074-172-7 (9781780741727)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2010
Oneworld Publications
€14.50
Article not available at the moment
Person
Alexandra Wilson is Senior Lecturer in Musicology at Oxford Brookes University. Passionate about bringing opera to a wider audience, she regularly presents broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, and is a reviewer for Opera magazine.
Content
- Intro
- Title page
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 A brief history of opera
- 2 Opera on and offstage
- 3 Opera and politics
- 4 Opera and identity: gender and race
- Epilogue
- Further reading
- Bibliography
- Recommended listening/viewing
- Index
