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Oxford Illustrated History of Opera by Roger. Parker (2001, Uk-Trade Paper)

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THE OXFORD ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF OPERA By Roger Parker **BRAND NEW**.

About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100192854453

ISBN-139780192854452

eBay Product ID (ePID)1797901

Product Key Features

Book TitleOxford Illustrated History of Opera

Number of Pages572 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2001

TopicGenres & Styles / Opera

IllustratorYes

GenreMusic

AuthorRoger. Parker

Book SeriesOxford Illustrated History Ser.

FormatUk-Trade Paper

Dimensions

Item Height1.3 in

Item Weight44.8 Oz

Item Length9.7 in

Item Width7.4 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

Reviews"A very readable historical overview.... The illustrations are very useful and informative."--Benjamin Korstved, Ball State University "General readers and scholars will take delight in this sturdily bound, excellently designed, reasonably priced publication. Highly recommended, it belongs in every collection."--Choice, "A very readable historical overview....The illustrations are very useful and informative."--Benjamin Korstved,Ball State University "General readers and scholars will take delight in this sturdily bound, excellently designed, reasonably priced publication. Highly recommended, it belongs in every collection."--Choice, "A very readable historical overview.... The illustrations are very useful and informative."--Benjamin Korstved, Ball State University"General readers and scholars will take delight in this sturdily bound, excellently designed, reasonably priced publication. Highly recommended, it belongs in every collection."--Choice

Dewey Edition20

TitleLeadingThe

Dewey Decimal782.1/03

Table Of ContentIntroduction1. The Seventeenth Century2. The Eighteenth Century: Serious Opera3. The Eighteenth Century: Comic Opera4. The Nineteenth Century: France5. The Nineteenth Century: Italy6. The Nineteenth Century: Germany7. Russian, Czech, Polish, and Hungarian Opera to 19008. The Twentieth Century: to 19459. The Twentieth Century: 1945 to the Present Day10. The Staging of Opera11. Opera Singers12. Opera as a Social EventFurther ReadingChronologyAcknowledgementsIndex

SynopsisThis lavishly illustrated volume explores the history and social context of music's most lavish spectacle--opera. It surveys the history of opera from its beginnings to the present day, and deals with the staging, opera singers, and opera as a social event. As well as providing a historical narrative, the contributors (all experts in their field) discuss the complex development of opera and its relationship with other arts and culture generally. The many illustrations underline the richly visual nature of opera and the vivid extravagances of its staging and costume; they also provide a parallel visual history, supplementing and enriching the verbal narrative., In this lavishly illustrated volume the history and social context of opera is explored by a group of leading British and American scholars, under the editorship of Roger Parker. The core of the book is a historical survey of opera, from its beginnings in Florence four hundred years ago, up to opera in the 1990s. The greatest coverage is given to the nineteenth century, the time during which most of the operas performed today were composed. There are also chapters on the history of staging, on opera singers, on opera as a social occasion through the ages, and a chronology.Although all major composers of opera are mentioned, and their works discussed, the various chapters concentrate less on simple historical narrative and more on the complex development of opera, especially on its relationship with the other arts and its place within the broader world of culture and politics.The numerous illustrations -- nearly three hundred, some thirty of which are in colour -- serve the vital purpose of underlining the richly visual nature of opera: the manner in which it communicates so vividly through staging and costume, and the spectacular way in which it often reflects the cultural concerns of the age. Rather than simply illustrating the text, the pictures work as a kind of parallel history, supplementing and enriching the verbal narrative.The contributors are all experts in their chosen areas, but all of them have remained alive to the basic attraction of opera: its extravagant appeal to both the senses and the intellect, and its seemingly inexhaustible power to move and astonish us., In this lavishly illustrated volume the history and social context of opera is explored by a group of leading British and American scholars, under the editorship of Roger Parker. The core of the book is a historical survey of opera, from its beginnings in Florence four hundred years ago, up to opera in the 1990s. The greatest coverage is given to the nineteenth century, the time during which most of the operas performed today were composed. There are also chapterson the history of staging, on opera singers, on opera as a social occasion through the ages, and a chronology.Although all major composers of opera are mentioned, and their worksdiscussed, the various chapters concentrate less on simple historical narrative and more on the complex development of opera, especially on its relationship with the other arts and its place within the broader world of culture and politics.The numerous illustrations -- nearly three hundred, some thirty of which are in colour -- serve the vital purpose of underlining the richly visual nature of opera: the manner in which it communicates so vividly through staging andcostume, and the spectacular way in which it often reflects the cultural concerns of the age. Rather than simply illustrating the text, the pictures work as a kind of parallel history, supplementing andenriching the verbal narrative.The contributors are all experts in their chosen areas, but all of them have remained alive to the basic attraction of opera: its extravagant appeal to both the senses and the intellect, and its seemingly inexhaustible power to move and astonish us., In its lavish amalgam of theatrical and musical resources, its flamboyant charm, its extravagant appeal to the heart and the mind, and its seemingly inexhaustible power to move and astonish us, opera is clearly the most spectacular of all the arts. Now, in this beautifully illustrated, oversized volume--boasting over 250 pictures, 30 in full color--eleven leading authorities chronicle the full sweep of this stunning musical genre, ranging from the earliest known works to such recent experimental efforts as Robert Wilson and Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach . The contributors--including such noted opera critics as William Ashbrook, Paul Griffiths, and Barry Millington--provide superb coverage of all the major periods. We read of the remarkable success of opera in republican Venice, where by 1650 some fifty operas had been performed, including masterworks by Monteverdi, the giant of the era. We learn of opera seria--which within the world of eighteenth-century Italian opera was the summit of prestige--and opera buffa, most noted today for three major works by Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro , Don Giovanni , and Cosi Fan Tutti . We explore the peak of opera's popularity in nineteenth-century France, Italy, and Germany, with astute commentary on such major composers as Berlioz, Bizet, Rossini, Donizetti, and especially Wagner and Verdi. And we examine the remarkably diverse works of our own century, from Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and Alban Berg's Wozzeck to Benjamin Britten's Death in Venice and John Adams's Nixon in China . Throughout, the contributors illuminate how opera often reflects the cultural concerns of the age, how it is part of the social fabric, and in three fascinating sections on staging, singers, and the social climate, they give us a look behind the scenes as well as a feel for what opera was like in the past. We discover, for instance, that before the late nineteenth century, patrons were not expected to arrive on time, sit still, keep quiet, concentrate on the stage action, or stay to the end (Wagner put an end to this practice by darkening the theatre). Not least important are the numerous illustrations in the book, which highlight the richly visual nature of opera, the manner in which it communicates so vividly through staging and costume. Exhaustively researched and informatively captioned, these striking pictures offer an immediacy with the past that both enriches and complements the narrative. Nowhere does the rich panoply of opera history unfold more grandly than in this volume. Authoritative, vividly written, and exquisitely designed, it will be treasured by everyone who loves opera.

LC Classification NumberML1700