Description
By (author) Shirley Hugo
Short /annotation
30-Second Opera raises the curtain so that anyone can enjoy opera, classical or contemporary, without the elitism. Compiled by opera buffs, not the bourgeoisie, it serves up all you need to enjoy the spectacle, the music, and above all the voices – from Farinelli to femme fatale.
The bestselling 30-Second… series takes a revolutionary approach to learning about those subjects you feel you should really understand. Each title selects a popular topic and dissects it into the 50 most significant ideas at its heart. Every idea, no matter how complex, is explained in 300 words and one image, all digestible in just 30 seconds.
Live operatic performance was once part of popular culture yet in modern times it has become caricatured as exclusive, overwhelming and, often, very very long. 30-Second Opera raises the curtain so that anyone can enjoy opera, classical or contemporary, without the elitism. Compiled by opera buffs, not the bourgeoisie, it serves up all you need to enjoy the spectacle, the music, and above all the voices – from Farinelli to femme fatale.
Table of contents
BUILDING BLOCKS
Libretto
Score
Opera House
Stars
Profile: Farinelli
Orchestra
Conductor
Staging
WORDS & MUSIC
Overture
Aria
Recitative
Chorus
Profile: Jenny Lind
Ensemble
HISTORY
Beginnings
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
Late nineteenth century
Twentieth century
Profile: Enrico Caruso
Twenty-first century
GENRES
Opera Seria
Opera Buffa
Bel Canto
Grand Opéra
Profile: Feodor Chaliapin
Opera with Dialogue
Music Drama
Verismo
KEY COMPOSERS
Monteverdi
Handel
Mozart
Rossini
Verdi
Wagner
Bizet
Tchaikovsky
Puccini
Profile: Maria Callas
Strauss
Janacek
Britten
VOICES
Soprano
Mezzo/Contralto
Counter Tenor
Profile: Placido Domingo
Tenor
Baritone/Bass-baritone
Bass
CHARACTERS
Angel
Femme fatale
Profile: Joyce DiDonato
Hero
Rival
Buffoon
Gods & monsters
Resources
Notes on Contributors
Index
Acknowledgements
Biographical note
Hugo Shirley is Opera Critic of The Spectator, a Deputy Editor of Opera Magazine and a critic for Gramophone and writes widely on music and opera. Having received his PhD from King’s College London in 2011, he also maintains a profile in musicology as an Early Career Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University, and has published work in the Cambridge Opera Journal, The Journal
of the Royal Musical Association and
Music & Letters.
Feature
An internationally bestselling series presents essential concepts in a mere 30 seconds, 300 words, and one image
Feature
50 key topics, explained in plain terms without the clichés
Feature
All you need to understand opera, minus the stuffed shirt
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