Opera: A History in Documents - Softcover

Weiss

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195116380 ISBN 13: 9780195116380

Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, 2002

Synopsis

This fascinating journey through the history of opera features more than 100 selections, from opera's late Renaissance infancy through modern times.

About this title

Review

... a most coherent, elegant, and perceptive survey of four centuries of operatic debate. This volume is a priceless addition to the literature, and the pages of my copy are already dog-eared from constant use. (Music and Letters)

Opera: A History in Documents comes as treasure trove to the fan ... crisp, informative intros to each entry ... The extracts relating to theatres and performance are fascinating ... no true lover of opera can afford to be without this invaluable collection. (Opera Now)

Weiss's book is a Jack Horner's pie full of plums, familiar and unfamiliar, many of them freshly and elegantly translated by Weiss himself ... a valuable and enjoyable book. (Opera)

Weiss is head of the musicology department at John Hopkins, and the anthology that he has compiled makes up a history of opera that is learned, quirky, disjointed, spiced with the unexpected and the diversionary, and sometimes very funny; everything, in fact, that such a collection should be. (Opera)

Excellent compilation ... a rich offering ... for students and intelligent opera lovers, the material on the operas selected will rapidly become indispensable (BBC Music Magazine)

Synopsis

This work collates over 100 primary-source documents for students of the history of opera. The varied selections - which include letters, excerpts of journals, bits of libretti, and contemporary criticism - provide eye-witness commentary on the world of opera from its late-Renaissance infancy through modern times. Each selection is introduced by an extensive headnote that both explains the document's context and positions it in the book's overall narrative.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195116380
• ISBN 13: 9780195116380
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352