The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera [Hardcover]

Stanley Sadie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

From Don Giovanni to Wozzeck, Purcell to Glass, Goethe to Brecht, and Callas to Bartoli, this book offers a comprehensive and accessible guide to the history of opera. Organized chronologically by era, it begins with the roots of opera in classical times and ends with the numerous changes in style and subject in the 20th century. General editor Stanley Sadie draws on the expertise of a wide range of professional writers, educators, and musicians to place the rise of the operatic tradition in its social and cultural contexts. Unique to this encyclopedia are the six thematic strands developed throughout the book-opera houses, stage and scene, the voice, techniques, performances, and popular melody-which allow readers to read sequentially or to follow a single theme.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stanley Sadie was the music critic for The Times of London for 17 years and the editor of The Musical Times for 20 years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Billboard Books; First Edition edition (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823077217
• ISBN-13: 978-0823077212
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 10.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A distinquished work of operatic history and information, April 9, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera (Hardcover)

Opera is one of the most popular cultural forms of entertainment, and The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Opera is the perfect introduction to this world, exploring the history of opera's development from ancient Greece to modern times. No dry treatise, each chapter provides lively cultural and period insights and color illustration to provide a fine background on how the music and production developed. Also notable: a 'key composer' series of entries with major biographies of the main composers of each era, timelines of opera compositions, and outlines of themes which highlight other opera developments, from the building of special opera theatres to the fostering of opera companies around the world. Simply a 'must' for any who would absorb the music and structure of the opera world The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Opera is a distinquished work of operatic history and information.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Billboard's opera, January 21, 2008

By 

C. Steinhagen (Marietta, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera (Hardcover)

This publication serves well as a coffee-table book but less well as an encyclopedia. Its organization requires a knowledge of opera history and its tiny-print, spotty index is not easy for the information seeker to use. The few errors I have found make me distrustful of the content as a whole. The subjective content, such as recommended recordings, goes beyond the purpose of an encyclopedia.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what the heck is opera?????????, May 25, 2007

By 

K. Ferlen (Alaska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera (Hardcover)

You don't really hate opera, you don't like it either. That's where I was with it for the past 60 years. I just had no knowledge of it - history, purpose, styles, etc. To me it was a stage of over made-up faces and strange costumes with screechy voices. Now I know better. This book won't teach you everything - that takes personal involvement like trying out a live performance or two. It will take one through the history, from the Greeks to present - yes, operas are still being written. It covers a wide range of information. Composers, the politics of the time; everything that helps one understand the the major operas including a synopsis. In short, this book is prerequisite to having any appreciation for opera. Really, opera isn't so bad - once you know the whats and whyfores. Expand your horizons! KHF