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The History of Opera
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With the possible exception of Mozart, Verdi is the most popular opera composer who ever lived. Quite early in his career his tunes were being cranked out by barrel organs throughout Europe and were well known to many who may never even have heard his name. But the complex man behind them remains elusive and puzzling. In this portrait-in-sound, Jeremy Siepmann and a group of distinguished actors take an in-depth look behind the popular image of a man who was, and perhaps remains, the most enduring national hero in Italian history and a colossus in the history of music itself.
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The 20th century was a hotbed of musical exploration, innovation, and transformation unlike any other epoch in history. Ranging across the century in its entirety, these 24 lectures present a musical cornucopia of astounding dimensions - a major presentation and exploration of the incredible brilliance and diversity of musical art across a turbulent century. Far more than simply a series of lectures, the program comprises a huge and many-sided resource for discovering the endless riches of 20th-century concert music across the globe.
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No music included!
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For many people, Beethoven is the greatest composer who ever lived. In this portrait-in-sound, actors’ readings combine with his music to reveal a titanic personality, both vulnerable and belligerent, comic and tragic, and above all heroic, as he comes to grips with perhaps the greatest disability a musician can suffer. No man’s music is more universal; few men’s lives are more inspiring. In every sense but one - his modest height - he was a giant. The great bonus of this audio-biography is that the development of Beethoven’s music can be heard in the context of his life.
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I'm a Believer
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Puccini’s swansong has a claim to being the last great popular opera. Its melodies have enchanted audiences since its posthumous premiere in 1926, two years after Puccini’s death. It involves a chilling story of love and cruelty, an intriguing cast of characters against the exotic backdrop of Imperial China, magnificent choruses and ensembles, and dazzling orchestration in an exotic score that comprises a string of remarkable arias - among which the great tenor aria "Nessun dorma" is the jewel. It is more than Puccini’s last opera: It is the last word, in every sense, on Italian opera.
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Fire and ice, hope and blood
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From its humble beginnings in the 17th-century Along the way, it has embraced nearly every trend to be found in Western concert music.In this series of twenty-four 45-minute lectures, Professor Greenberg guides you on a survey of the symphony.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,977
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A Signature Performance: Kenneth Branagh plays this like a campfire ghost story, told by a haunted, slightly insane Marlow.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Disgusting Revision
- By Long_Schlong_Silver on 09-27-18
Publisher's Summary
Opera, said Moliére, is the most expensive noise known to man. From its beginnings in the 16th Century, through to today when there are as many musical styles as there are composers, opera has fascinated, infuriated, delighted, been censored, been banned, excited riots, even won a nation its freedom. Here is the colorful story of sometimes temperamental composers and even more temperamental singers working in an art form which has produced some of man's noblest artistic creations. This absorbing history is illustrated by over 100 musical examples by Naxos artists as well as some of the greatest singers of the 20th century including Enrico Caruso and Fyodor Chaliapin.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Walter
- 02-01-04
somewhat disappointing
I would recommend this volume to anyone with little or no knowledge of the history of opera, but not to anyone moderately familiar with this musical genre. The last half-hour consists of opera anecdotes, which, for the most part, are disposable. Also, many times, a musical illustration is announced, only to not be actually played. An alternate recommendation is 'The History of Classical Music', by the same author, which held my attention throughout. It even has an excellent section on opera.
24 of 24 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Alexandra
- 02-24-06
Missing the music
Many of the musical illustrations appear to be either missing or cut out, making it a poor listen, and the history itself, while covering the major names with brief biographical detail and few technical terms, offers little depth or insight.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 05-28-12
loved it
Would you consider the audio edition of The History of Opera to be better than the print version?
yes the print version couldn't have the music
What did you like best about this story?
The musical examples
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
no
Any additional comments?
I would recommend this for anyone interested in opera or history in general
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Helen
- 05-07-06
Missing Music Ruins This One
Probably would have been a favorite if it didn't skip a lot of the music! Very irritating to have a piece of music introduced and then skipped. I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone as a result.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 04-08-16
Great overview!
This book provided just the overview I wanted. I studied violin in an orchestra and privately for years but somehow missed any history of opera completely; my music education didn't even include it.
Now that I am pursuing opera as a hobby this book provided fast and interesting insight to the historical context of many operas and composers. At times it was over whelming; I'll never remember these new names! But the book moves fast enough that you don't get bored and provides enough to keep you interested and wanting to look up more on your own.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sarah
- 03-21-14
Great Material Horrible Chapter Organization
I liked the material and the reading of thus book. I also found the music examples very useful. Unlike other reviewers, I had no trouble with the music samples. My major gripe about this audiobook is that it is organized into 6 sections which make no logical sense. It would have been much better if the audiobook was divided by chapters that matched the accompanying PDF. Navigation between the chapters would have been much better.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Flaminia
- 11-06-12
Very enjoyable read
This book is a pleasure to listen to. Musical extracts are nicely chosen and makes you feel like you want to listen to more music, which in fact I did, buying some operas I knew of but never rally listened to carefully.
I recommend this book especially to those who love opera but are no musicians since it will give them a key to better enjoy their listens.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 02-18-19
Very well read!
Very interesting thoroughly enjoyed. As an aspiring tenor learning the history of my art I thought it was an excellent concise history.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- KHF Riley
- 04-16-18
Overall, a good introduction
This was an entertaining book, but there were a few obvious factual errors presented which did make me doubt some of the other ‘facts’ I wasn’t so sure about. Those kinds of things should have been picked up before production but overall, an interesting book. Just don’t use it as your definitive source.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- K. Lilyth
- 08-02-19
Informative and entertaining
Robert Powell gives an animated narration to what I was expecting to be a very heavy topic. His tone is light and the text is easy enough to follow and understand. I thought this would be a challenge to get through but I ended up finding it easygoing.