Derived from the full Oxford Dictionary of Opera, this is the most authoritative and up-to-date dictionary of opera available in paperback. Fully revised for this new edition, with over 3,500 entries, it is designed to be accessible to all those who enjoy opera, whether at the opera-house or at home. Here opera buffs will have at their fingertips opera synopses and first performance details, bibliographies of works about opera, entries on singers (including their debuts and career highlights, with notes on voice type, style, and reputation), definitions and discussions of technical terms and operatic styles, and surveys of the history of opera worldwide. Included also are plot summaries and separate entries for well-know roles, arias, and choruses. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera provides a huge amount of information and learning packed conveniently in a single volume with helpful cross-references. It will be invaluable to all opera-goers, to those professionally concerned with opera, and to anyone needing reliable information on this fascinating subject.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (Oxford Quick Reference)

Arts & Photography

WARRACK, John

West, Ewan

Music

Oxford University Press

This greatly enlarged edition includes many rewritten and updated entries as well as numerous new articles on composers and performers, details of casts at first performances, and much additional information on the development of opera in different countries. Comprehensive, compact, and inexpensive, this is an indispensable reference work for all opera enthusiasts.

Rosenthal, Harold

La Scala, Luciano Pavarotti, Sweeney Todd, Maria Callas, Le Nozze di Figaro. These are just a few of the more than 1000 profiles on musical figures, 700 entries on famous works, and 200 important locales found in The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Covering everything from composers, individual operas, well-known arias, and principle characters, to technical terms, librettists, and opera-houses, this is the most comprehensive one-volume reference work on all aspects of opera. Here opera buffs will have at their fingertips opera synopses and first performance details, bibliographies of works about opera, entries on singers (including their debuts and career highlights, with notes on voice type, style, and reputation), definitions and discussions of technical terms and operatic styles, and surveys of the history of opera worldwide. The editors include not only the basic information one would expect to find in an authoritative reference, but also many colorful asides that make browsing a pleasure. For example, we learn that Tristan und Isolde (Munich, 1865) was an outcome of Wagner's reading of Schopenhauer, how Verdi referred to the years between 1844 and 1859 (during which he was commissioned to write nineteen operas) as his "anni di galera" (his prison years), and how Toscanini resigned his directorship at La Scala over political tensions with the Fascists (he had previously refused to conduct the Fascist anthem at performances). In an entry on China, we learn that, unlike European opera, Chinese opera incorporates acrobatics (and often mime), and that before the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), there were over 300 regional styles of opera throughout the land. We even find an entry that lists the multitude of operas (over 300) that have been written based on Shakespeare's works. Other entries provide information on the different subdivisions of voice (from the soprano dramatique to the bariton-Martin), Russian Opera in Uzbekistan, and the definition of "Kravattentenor" (a tenor whose tone suggests he is being strangled by his neckwear). The Oxford Dictionary of Opera comes at a time when opera has reached unprecedented levels of popularity, enjoying well-filled opera houses, public television broadcasts, and huge record sales. Fully cross-referenced and packed with information, this tremendous reference is a must for all opera lovers.

The Oxford Dictionary of Opera

Tchaikovsky

This is a biography which gives due space both to Tchaikovsky's unhappy, restless life and also to the prodigious talent, his methods of working and the gradual genesis of his greatest large-scale works. It includes a comprehensive list of his works.

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Hamish Hamilton

Traces the lives and careers and analyzes the works and styles of three romantic composers

The New Grove Early Romantic Masters 2: Weber, Berlioz, Mendelssohn (Composer Biography Series)

MacDonald, Hugh

Kohler, Karl-Heinz

W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

German opera from its primitive origins up to Wagner is the subject of this wide-ranging history, the only one of its kind in any language. It traces the growth of the humble Singspiel into a vehicle for the genius of Mozart and Beethoven, together with the persistent attempts at German Grand Opera. The many operas studied are placed in their historical, social and theatrical context, and attention is paid to the literary, artistic and philosophical ideas that made them part of the country's intellectual history.

German Opera: From the Beginnings to Wagner (Cambridge Studies in Opera)

Cambridge University Press

Carl Maria von Weber

The first edition of John Warrack's study of Weber was published in 1968 and quickly became recognized as the standard 'life and works' - indeed the best book on Weber in any language. The second edition was produced in 1976 to mark the 150th anniversary of Weber's death in London, and is reissued here. John Warrack's study gives a detailed account of the life in which the music is discussed (with analysis and music examples) in chronological order. It is a scholarly study based on first-hand research in German and other archives, but it is also elegantly written, and fully alive to general cultural and historical implications. It is a book for the music-lover as well as the scholar. This second edition contains a new concluding chapter, an important select bibliography of over 100 entries, and a useful family tree which was not in the first edition.

German opera from its primitive origins up to Wagner is the subject of this wide-ranging history, the only one of its kind in any language. It traces the growth of the humble Singspiel into a vehicle for the genius of Mozart and Beethoven, together with the persistent attempts at German Grand Opera. The many operas studied are placed in their historical, social and theatrical context, and attention is paid to the literary, artistic and philosophical ideas that made them part of the country's intellectual history.

Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Cambridge Opera Handbooks)

This book presents a lively and informative account of Die Meistersinger von NÜrnberg, including its literary sources and the evolution of the text from a light comic opera into its final form. John Warrack examines the music and historical tradition of the Mastersingers; Lucy Beckett analyzes the Hans Sachs character and reveals how Wagner communicates with his audience, both musically and dramatically; Michael Tanner suggests new ways to interpret Meistersinger as a reflection of Wagner's overall view of opera; while Patrick Carnegy provides a history of key productions. The volume contains a full synopsis, bibliography, and music examples as well as three valuable appendices.

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

Books by WARRACK, John

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

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (Oxford Quick Reference)

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (Oxford Quick Reference)

The Oxford Dictionary of Opera

Tchaikovsky

The New Grove Early Romantic Masters 2: Weber, Berlioz, Mendelssohn (Composer Biography Series)

German Opera: From the Beginnings to Wagner (Cambridge Studies in Opera)

Carl Maria von Weber

German Opera: From the Beginnings to Wagner (Cambridge Studies in Opera)

Carl Maria von Weber

Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Cambridge Opera Handbooks)