A guide for opera enthusiasts & converts to this ancient rite. It explores 400 years of music drama from late-Renaissance Italy to works from contemporary names including Philip Glass & Thomas Ades. It helps you discover hundreds of classic & modern opera interpretations & learn about the lives of operatic masters. ...

Opera is often dismissed as outdated & excessive, & perceived to be characterised by excessive passions, sumptuous costumes, & ill-mannered divas. Revealing the diverse reasons behind opera's lasting appeal, this title introduces the agendas that have governed its composition, production & reception over the last four centuries. ...

Opera portrays pieces in their historical context & highlights key events in the history of music, as well as important performances & interpretations. Arranged alphabetically by composer, this volume is a clearly organised reference work for fans of both classical & modern opera, from Verdi to Handel, & from Mozart & Britten to Puccini. ...

A compilation of opera & ballet highlights featuring artists including Bryn Terfel, Cecilia Bartoli, Anne Sofie von Otter, Jose Cura, Simon Keenlyside & Agnes Letestu. The repertoire comprises: Verdi's Il Trovatore: Gypsy Chorus (Royal Opera House), Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake: Entrance of Swans
- Act 2 (Paris Opera Ballet), Mozart's The Magic Flute: Queen of the Night aria
- Act 2 (Royal Opera House), Puccini's La Boheme: Che Gelida Manina! (Teatro Real); Bizet's Carmen: Habanera (Glyndebourne), Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream: Divertissement
- Act 2 (Pacific Northwest Ballet), Puccini's Gianni Schicchi: O Mio Babbino Caro (Glyndebourne), Strauss's Die Fledermaus: Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka (Glyndebourne), Rameau's Zoroastre: Entr'acte: Ouverture/A Mes Tristes Regards
- Act 2/ Scene 1 (Drottningholm Theatre), Rossini's La Cenerentola: Signora Altezza
- Act 1 (Glyndebourne), Bellini's Norma: Casta Diva (De Nederlandse Opera), Balanchine's Jewels: Emeralds
- Final (Paris Opera Ballet), Cecilia & Bryn at Glyndebourne & Mozart's Die Zauberflote: Pa-pa-pa-pa duet (Glyndebourne).





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Three operas from the Arena di Verona Festival conducted by Daniel Oren & Nello Santi. Franco Zeffirelli directs Puccini's Madame Butterfly; Hugo de Ana directs Tosca; while Verdi's Aida is directed by Gianfranco de Bosio. Artists featured include Fiorenza Cedolins, Marcelo Alvarez, & Ruggero Raimondi. ...

Offering insights into understanding what makes opera sound & look the way it does, this guide features simple information on the evolution of opera from the Baroque to the Romantic & all the way to the 20th century. The greatest composers & most beloved operas are covered in detail. ...

Traces the development of ENO from its earliest origins in the darkest Victorian slums of the Cut, where it was conceived as a vehicle of social reform, through two world wars, & via Sadler's Wells to its great glory days at the Coliseum & beyond. ...