Andrew Lloyd Webber is the most famousand most controversialcomposer of musical theater alive today. Hundreds of millions of people have seen his musicals, which include Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Sunset Boulevard. Even more know his songs. Lloyd Webber’s many awards include seven Tonys and three Grammysbut he has nonetheless been the subject of greater critical vitriol than any of his artistic peers. Why have both the man and his work provoked such extreme responses? Does he challenge his audiences, or merely recycle the comfortable and familiar? Over three decades, how has Lloyd Webber changed fundamentally what a musical can be? In this sustained examination of Lloyd Webber’s creative career, the music scholar John Snelson explores the vast range of influences that have informed Lloyd Webber’s work, from film, rock, and pop music to Lloyd Webber’s own life story. This rigorous and sympathetic survey will be essential reading for anyone interested in Lloyd Webber’s musicals and the world of modern musical theater that he has been so instrumental in shaping.

Andrew Lloyd Webber (Yale Broadway Masters Series)

Arts & Photography

Snelson, John

Music

Yale University Press

The first comprehensive survey of the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the best-known composer of musical theater of our generation Andrew Lloyd Webber is the most famous—and most controversial—composer of musical theater alive today. Hundreds of millions of people have seen his musicals, which include Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Sunset Boulevard. Even more know his songs. Lloyd Webber’s many awards include seven Tonys and three Grammys—but he has nonetheless been the subject of greater critical vitriol than any of his artistic peers. Why have both the man and his work provoked such extreme responses? Does he challenge his audiences, or merely recycle the comfortable and familiar? Over three decades, how has Lloyd Webber changed fundamentally what a musical can be? In this sustained examination of Lloyd Webber’s creative career, the music scholar John Snelson explores the vast range of influences that have informed Lloyd Webber’s work, from film, rock, and pop music to Lloyd Webber’s own life story. This rigorous and sympathetic survey will be essential reading for anyone interested in Lloyd Webber’s musicals and the world of modern musical theater that he has been so instrumental in shaping.

The Story of Music: From Antiquity to the Present

This series provides quick and sound knowledge on the most central cultural and historical topics with a chronological depiction of the most important topics. Includes timelines, illustrations and maps.

Lord, Maria

h.f.ullmann

The British musical in its formative years has appeared in strikingly different guises: from the lasting hits of Oliver!, and Me and My Girl, to the successes of The Dancing Years, Bless the Bride and Expresso Bongo. This authoritative study traces what made these shows successes in the West End and how their qualities define a uniquely British interpretation of the genre. Cultural, sociological and political influences entwine with close reading of the dramatic and musical elements of this repertory to reveal a fascinating web of connections and contrasts between the times, the shows and the people who made them. Through detailed case studies, such as of The Boy Friend and Bitter Sweet, the rich individuality of each West End work is spotlighted, posing vital questions and intriguing answers as to what a British musical can be. Interdisciplinary in nature, this study brings together all the core materials to discover this period in the story of the British musical. Reviewing the Situation is insightful and lively, an invaluable resource for students and scholars of musical theatre and all those theatregoers drawn to the power of these classic British shows.

Reviewing the Situation: The British Musical from Noël Coward to Lionel Bart

Methuen Drama

John Snelson, Commissioning Editor at The Royal Opera House, explores how the music tells the story in opera. Aimed at newcomers as well as long-time fans, this book focuses on how to look and listen to any opera. The text covers many of the elements that composers and librettists employ to give enjoyment to audiences, in the hope that readers can gain greater enjoyment from future viewing and listening, too.

How to Enjoy Opera

Oberon Books

A celebratory summary of one of the greatest operatic events at the Royal Opera House in London, The Ring charts the story of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen—the first staging in 1892 through the increasingly controversial productions of the late twentieth century. Each chapter is richly illustrated to evoke the character of the productions and their times.

The Ring: A Production History at the Royal Opera House

Literature & Fiction

Dramas & Plays

This volume retraces the story and development of music from the antique times to our days, with numerous illustrations and excurses about major composers, musicians, theoricians, and movements. This is an ideal textbook for students and anyone interested to know more about music.

H.F.Ullmann Publishing Gmbh

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Snelson, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Snelson, John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Snelson, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Andrew Lloyd Webber (Yale Broadway Masters Series)

Andrew Lloyd Webber (Yale Broadway Masters Series)

The Story of Music: From Antiquity to the Present

Reviewing the Situation: The British Musical from Noël Coward to Lionel Bart

How to Enjoy Opera

The Ring: A Production History at the Royal Opera House

The Story of Music: From Antiquity to the Present