After amusing the world with her feline versions of famous paintings and the favorite plays of Shakespeare, Susan Herbert now turns her witty paintbrush to the great operas. With a captivating variety of operatic scenes and set pieces, Herbert's latest will delight all who enjoyed the artist's previous books. 32 color illustrations.
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This is a book of great wit, filled with tremendous amusement value for Opera lovers, for cat fanciers, and, especially, for cat-fancying opera lovers. Susan Herbert's delicious portraits of cats in familiar operatic costumes And settings -- from the cover portrait of a spear-carrying, breast-plated feline Brunnhilde in winged helmet (ho-jo-to-ho!) to the closing ensemble of garret-dwelling Bohemians--evoke familiar stage pictures, but with startlingly different occupants for those customary costumes. Don't miss the coronation portrait of Boris Godunov, complete with tiny cat icons on the collar of his robe, the presentation of Der Rosenkavalier's silver rose, the Queen of the Night as an angry white Persian or Herbert's evocation of the moment when Floria Tosca places the cross on the chest of the recently deceased Baron Scarpia. Wagnerians will particularly appreciate the scene from Act III of Die Walkuere, when Brunnhilde, lugging the unconscious Sieglinde, beseeches the aid of her spear-toting sisters, and the moment in Das Rheingold in which the giants haul away the goddess Freia as payment for The building of Valhalla; the giants are played by bulldogs. Along with Herbert's full-color paintings, the operas are illustrated with small, pen-and-ink drawings of other characters: Rosina in Barber of Seville, Tatyana in night gown, writing her letter to Eugene Onegin, Sieglinde slipping a sleeping potion into Hunding's drinking horn--and isn't that Die Meistersinger's jealous pedant Beckmesser on the title page? The "authorized history" of the Catropolitan Opera, by Bill Meadowcane, is less effective than the pictures, and he has, further, done a bit of miscasting in some operas. A few scenes are mislabeled. Still, these are just quibbles about a most enjoyable picture book, a pleasure both for children who know little or nothing about the opera, and for adults who know a great deal. --Sarah Bryan Miller
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Opera Cats,
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This review is from: The Catropolitan Opera: The Centenary Celebration of the Grand Catropolitan Opera Company (Hardcover)
THE CATROPOLITAN OPERA is British artist Susan Herbert's follow-up to her SHAKESPEARE CATS. Whereas that book cast cats in Shakespearean productions, the present one casts them in operas; each illustration is accompanied by a brief scene-setting summary and a witty text by Bill Meadowcane. The book's premise is that cultured cats have formed their own opera company, the Catropolitan Opera, and delight both feline and human audiences with their productions. Like the Metropolitan, the Catropolitan has its impresarios (the company's general manager is named "Rex Manxman"), its director/designers ("Furrelli" created the 1910 production of AIDA) and, of course, its stars. ("Fanny Clawson" is a late, beloved prima donna," "Ailuria Katsos" is the feline Maria Callas; "Inga Holdenstroken" is the company's Wagnerian soprano and "Alexander Katnips" its Russian bass.) Meadowcane's clever commentary makes for entertaining and informative reading and lends coherence to the book.
Herbert's illustrations are brilliant. She is truly a gifted artist who knows color, line, composition - and the anatomy of the cat. Even more so than in SHAKESPEARE CATS, she has managed to suggest human-type emotions on her cats' adorable faces. Her Don Giovanni, facing the "stone guest," looks apprehensive (for once); her Lucia di Lammermoor, green eyes shining, appears blissfully unconscious of her crime as she regards her bloodstained gown; and the characters from THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (in the final scene) wear expressions ranging from contentment to dignified remorse. In addition to these full-color illustrations, Herbert treats us to small black-and-white drawings of additional characters from (nearly) every opera. So for RIGOLETTO she shows us the debauched Duke of Mantua as well as, in full color, the titular jester and Gilda from Act II; in EUGENE ONEGIN Tatyana holds her letter on the page facing a beautiful color picture of a nervous Lensky and a confident Onegin standing back-to-back, pre-duel. With so many illustrations good enough to frame and display beside "real" art, THE CATROPOLITAN OPERA will be treasured by cat-lovers, opera-lovers, and art-lovers.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Catropolitan Opera,
By Avid Reader (California) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Catropolitan Opera: The Centenary Celebration of the Grand Catropolitan Opera Company (Hardcover)
Susan Herbert's books are creative and enjoyable and this is no exception. Her attention to detail, artistry and sense of humor all contribute to a masterful piece of work.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Opera and Cats Perfect together,
By bunburina "bunburina" (Who Cares?) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Catropolitan Opera: The Centenary Celebration of the Grand Catropolitan Opera Company (Hardcover)
If you love oprea or cats, or both, you must have this book. IT is just too much FUN to read this. Test your knowledge of opera by naming the opera without reading the text. It is not hard becasue Ms. Herbert captures the essence of each opera. Give this as a gift to your opera/cat loving friend, you will be a HERO. Mr. Meadowcane's text is witty, however, "Eugene Onegin" is not a tenor.
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