Aida/the Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series (Opera Journey Mini Guide Series) [Paperback]

Burton D. Fisher (Composer), Giuseppe Verdi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Opera Journey Mini Guide Series | Publication Date: April 1, 2000

A convenient, pocket-sized GUIDE to Verdi's AIDA which includes the PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS in the opera, the STORY SYNOPSIS, a STORY NARRATIVE WITH ONE-BAR MUSIC HIGHLIGHT examples, and an essay providing background about the opera and its composer, analysis, and insightful commentary.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These small-format volumes devoted to individual operas are the first in a projected 200-volume series (with approximately four titles to be added each month). An expansion of the "Opera Journeys Mini Guide" series that the publisher launched last year, they include a brief synopsis, a story narrative with very brief music examples, commentary and analysis, a libretto, a discography, a videography, and a dictionary of opera and musical terms. Students and opera goers may find them attractive because of their reasonable price, their e-book availability on netLibrary, and the insightful commentary and analysis by Fisher (lecturer, Florida Intl. Univ.). A list of source materials, however, would have been useful; in portions of the Butterfly and Boh?me volumes, for example, Fisher seems to have relied to some extent on Julian Budden's articles in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Also, the discographies are rife with problems. Neither record labels nor formats are given, the editing is sloppy, names are misspelled ("Tuckers" for Tucker), many dates are incorrect, and some recordings are listed twice with different dates. In one case, a recording made in 1912 with singers who are surely deceased is dated 2001. An entry for a recording of Carmen reverses the women's roles, listing Gheorghiu as Carmen and Larmore as Michaela. Attractive format and engaging commentary aside, these volumes are compromised by their inaccuracies. Not recommended. [The ISBNs for the e-books are the same as those for the print versions. Ed.] Kate McCaffrey, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.
- Kate McCaffrey, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Other Opera Journeys Publishing titles ALSO AVAILABLE at amazon.com:

OPERA CLASSICS LIBRARY SERIES:
•Aida •The Barber of Seville
•La Bohème •Carmen •Cavalleria Rusticana
•Così fan tutte •Don Giovanni
•Lucia di Lammermoor •Madama Butterfly
•The Magic Flute •Manon Lescaut •The Marriage of Figaro
•Otello •I Pagliacci •Rigoletto •Salome •Tosca
•Il Trittico (Il Tabarro/Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi)
•La Traviata •Turandot and The Ring of the Nibelung (without libretto)

OPERA JOURNEYS MINI GUIDE SERIES:

•Aïda •Andrea Chénier •The Barber of Seville
•La Bohème •Boris Godunov •Carmen
•Cavalleria Rusticana •Così fan tutte •Der Freischütz
•Die Fledermaus •Don Carlo •Don Giovanni
•Don Pasquale •The Elixir of Love •Elektra
•Eugene Onegin •Exploring Wagner’s Ring •Falstaff
•Faust •Fidelio •The Flying Dutchman
•Hansel and Gretel •L’Italiana in Algeri •Julius Caesar
•Lohengrin •Lucia di Lammermoor •Macbeth
•Madama Butterfly •The Magic Flute
•Manon •Manon Lescaut •The Marriage of Figaro
•A Masked Ball •The Mikado •Nabucco •Norma
•Otello •I Pagliacci •Porgy and Bess
•The Rhinegold •Rigoletto •Der Rosenkavalier
•Salome •Samson and Delilah •Siegfried
•The Tales of Hoffmann •Tannhäuser
•Tosca •La Traviata •Tristan and Isolde
•Il Trovatore •Turandot
•Twilight of the Gods •The Valkyrie •Werther

OPERA JOURNEYS LIBRETTO SERIES:

•Aida •The Barber of Seville
•La Bohème •Carmen •Cavalleria Rusticana
•Così fan tutte •Don Giovanni •Edgar
•La Fanciulla del West •Gianni Schicchi
•Lucia di Lammermoor •Madama Butterfly
•The Magic Flute •Manon Lescaut
•The Marriage of Figaro •Otello •I Pagliacci •Rigoletto
•La Rondine •Salome •Suor Angelica
•Il Tabarro •Tosca •La Traviata •Le Villi

AND
A History of Opera: Milestones and Metamorphoses

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 36 pages
• Publisher: Opera Journeys Pub (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930841043
• ISBN-13: 978-1930841048
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 3.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #941,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mini-sized guide with maxi-helpful information, September 6, 2000

By 

Heinz Dinter (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aida/the Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series (Opera Journey Mini Guide Series) (Paperback)

The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is just wonderful; it's like a "Cliff Note" of the opera, and extremely informative and educational. I particularly like the size; these guides are not cumbersome and fit right into my shirt pocket. The ladies will find sufficient room in their pocketbooks.

The story narrative with the music examples is excellent. I prefer it to a libretto; indeed, it's a much easier way to follow the essence of the story. The essay is magnificent; very well written, not pedantic, and extremely insightful and comprehensible. I congratulate Burton Fisher for a job very well done and Amazon for making these handy, information-laden booklets available. The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is a wonderful contribution to opera education and opera appreciation.

My tip: acquire the entire collection because you will be in easy reach of superbly presented opera guides consisting of story analysis, principal characters in the opera, story narrative with music highlights, background, analysis, and commentary.

Heinz Dinter, Ph.D.