Today more and more people are discovering the excitement and fascination of opera - an art that is an emotional phenomenon rather than an analysable experience. Joseph Wechsberg - musician and lifelong opera addict, claqueur, listener and critic - takes the reader on an informative and highly entertaining journey through centuries of operatic history, from "Dafne," performed during the 1590s and generally thought to be the first opera, to today's glittering productions at La Scala, the Metropolitan, the Staatsoper in Vienna. Opera classics are discussed in illuminating detail - from analyses of their thematic components and musical qualities to entertaining biographical vignettes of the great composers and legendary performers, and descriptions of first performances. Wechsberg reminds the reader that a single performance is the result of the synchronized efforts of some four hundred people: librettist, composer, singers, conductors, producer, orchestra, chorus, critics, stagehands and extras - all of whose talents and livelihood depend on this exacting art. With wit and urbanity, the author offers both the novice and the seasoned opera lover a great deal of information and insight in this delightful examination of the Baroque, Romantic, and modern periods of operatic music.

The Opera

WECHSBERG, Joseph

Macmillan Co.

During the nineteenth century and right up to World War I, the royalty and nobility of Europe, the members of high society, and the merely rich flocked annually to the sumptuous hotels and restaurants, the casinos and racetracks of towns like Bath and Brighton; Baden-Baden and Karlsbad; Saratoga Springs (New York) and Hot Springs (Virginia), USA. They came to "take the cure" - to recuperate from the effects of high living the rest of the year - and to see and be seen. Each watering place had is chronique scandaleuse. Glamour, intrigue, high fashion; theater, opera, ballet; music hall artistes and brass bands; espionage and diplomacy were as much a part of life as "taking the waters" of the mineral springs or hot sulphur springs, which were said to have health-giving and even rejuvenating effects. Today the golden age of the spa as a social Mecca is past, but many of them have adapted to more modern medical requirements by developing health centers and sports centers, and providing up-to-date treatments for stress and other "modern" diseases. Though the glamour is gone, the waters are still an essential part of the cure. In this beautifully illustrated book, Joseph Wechsberg takes an evocative look at the great spas of Europe and America, past and present, exploring their colorful histories and lively reputations, and telling the stories of the famous people who visited them and made their names.

The Lost World of the Great Spas

Harpercollins

Wechsberg, Joseph, Waltz Emperors, The: The Life And Times And Music Of The Strauss

The waltz emperors: the life and times and music of the Strauss family

Weidenfeld and Nicolson

256p large format, brown cloth, dustjacket, adhesive plastic cover, printed endpapers, many plates &amp; illustrations also in colour, index, a fulsome and complete musical biography, from a Cambridge college library, a well preserved copy

Verdi

Dream towns of Europe

PUTNAM

Hardcover, as pictured; scratch/small tear on spine edge; mild cover edge rub wear; text is excellent

The Cooking of Vienna's Empire,

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Regional & International

Time-Life-Books

In Leningrad

DOUBLEDAY

The Vienna I knew: Memories of a European childhood

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

THE WALTZ EMPERORS The life and times and music of the Strauss Family. "What was the special magic that made

The waltz emperors;: The life and times and music of the Strauss family

Hardcover and dust jacket, as pictured; mild aging (bio)

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

Books by WECHSBERG, Joseph

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

The Opera

The Lost World of the Great Spas

The waltz emperors: the life and times and music of the Strauss family

Verdi

Dream towns of Europe

The Cooking of Vienna's Empire,

In Leningrad

The Vienna I knew: Memories of a European childhood

The waltz emperors;: The life and times and music of the Strauss family

Verdi