| The Rough Guide to Opera is a unique handbook on the most thrilling of art forms, spanning four hundred years of music drama. The title features lively biographical sketches of some 150 composers from Claudio Monteverdi to Poul Ruders, animating the main events of their careers and revealing their social and musical context. Entertaining accounts of hundreds of operas both famous and neglected and comprehensive reviews of over a thousand CD’s from recent digital releases to the best historical recordings. From historical figures like Caruso to contemporary stars like Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming and Daniel Barenboim, discover the finest singers and conductors on record. Superb photographs, drawings, and CD cover images make this title an Opera-lover’s essential. |
What The Press Say
Written so as not to patronize the buff and not to intimidate the newcomer. If you want a one-volume reference this is probably the one. The Rough team delivers its main texts with a light touch and the sections are broken up with amusing little essays. - Nottingham Evening Post FAR FROM ROUGH…IT APPEARS TO LEAVE NOTHING OUT…RACILY WRITTEN…THE MUSICAL ANALYSIS IS SPOT ON…MATTHEW BOYDEN KNOWS HIS MUSIC AND COMMUNICATES IT WITH STYLE AND PANACHE - BBC Music Magazine THE IDEAL TOOL FOR MAKING WISE CHOICES IN CDs. . . THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF GREAT MUSIC REFERENCE BOOKS FROM ROUGH GUIDES. . .THIS OPERA REFERENCE IS ESSENTIAL - Billboard USER-FRIENDLY, PRACTICAL, AND ENTICING! - Belcanto Online |