Now, after more than ten years, this famous work of the stories of more than 300 of the world's great operas has been entirely revised, updated, expanded, and reset in a manner zestfully responsive to the explosion of enthusiasm for opera over the last decade.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
There are lots of books that detail operatic plots, but this is the classic. It offers more than most such guides including historic background and musical examples of major themes. Now revised, this is a good first resource for the operagoer who wants to know exactly what s/he is going to see and hear.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Tresure Tove of Trivia,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Definitive Kobbe's Opera Book (Hardcover)
I started collecting books on Opera in the 1940s and 1950s. My Grandmother had a 1910 Victor Book of the Opera and I got for Christmas a David Ewen Book of the Opera. From there I eventually aquired the New York Times Guide etc. and finally The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. In four big volumes it covers all famous as well as obscure operas from it's birth in 1600. Not only does it contain operas but composers, singers, opera houses, librettists etc. I did not come across Kobbe's Book until rather late and have now added it to my collection. It is not a sustitute for the other books but contains much detail about the well known operas not available in other sources. For instance, I was listening to the new and wonderful ROH DVD of Faust with Terfel, Gheorghiu & Alagna and when it came to the Walpurgis Night scene there began a parade of four famous courtesans from history. I could name only two of them; Cleopatra and Helen of Troy. But could not remember the other two. Grove's didn't have it, Ewen didn't have it, The New York Times didn't have it. However The Definitive Kobbe had it; Lais and Phryne (both ancient Greece) How's that for trivia. As an avid collector of Opera trivia Kobbe's is a true treasure trove.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well, not "definitive" but good to have around.,
By Jan Cambria "Jan" (Cambria, CA USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Definitive Kobbe's Opera Book (Hardcover)
The pictured cover is identical to my 1987 version. I don't know if there has been a reissue. Here are some caveats about my '87 version: 1. There are no synopses of works by Campra, Cavalli, Haydn, Korngold, nor Vivaldi: just to name a few. 2. I find the decision to group operas into periods, in both the table of contents and throughout the book, rather ostentatious. Since I am not a music scholar, I use the Index, in the back,to speed up my searches. The larger 1997, black-cover edition is more to my liking because it has more current operas.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good value for the money,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Definitive Kobbe's Opera Book (Hardcover)
I received the book five days after I ordered it and it was , as described by the vendor, in very good conditions.
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