The Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas [Hardcover]

John W. Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

For seasoned opera-goers and first-time listeners alike, the definitive collection of opera stories.

Now offered as a handsome boxed set, this guide treats opera lovers to 225 absorbing plot summaries. John Freeman has carefully selected the works to represent every opera performed today in the world's great houses, and he succeeds in vividly recounting the often intricate narratives. Whether used as a pre-performance refresher or a bedside companion, this new set of Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas, Volumes One and Two, is an essential addition to any opera lover's library.
-- "The first volume broadens our understanding of opera. The second is even more important, since it deals with works that were premiered or rediscovered in the century now coming to a close". -- Placido Domingo

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Even with the advent of surtitles and Met titles, intelligent operagoers have an idea of what's going to transpire on stage before they attend a performance. The Metropolitan Opera: Stories of the Great Operas, by veteran Opera News writer-critic-editor John W. Freeman, is a good way to pick up such knowledge. Freeman offers brief composer biographies (72 of them), relevant background, and the basics on who's who and what happens in each of 150 operas. His writing is unambiguous, succinct, and informative. The Metropolitan Opera will prove useful to both operatic newcomers and experienced opera attendees. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The first volume broadens our understanding of opera. The second is even more important, since it deals with works that were premiered or rediscovered in the century now coming to a close. -- Placido Domingo

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1080 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039304548X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393045482
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 3.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #980,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick Reads... Questionable Cost, November 19, 2004

By 

Florestan "Florestan" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas (Hardcover)

John W. Freeman's two volume set represents the best "plots only" collection of opera synopses available. All the operas are summarized in sparing, unambiguous language. Some operas are summarized so succinctly that too much mystery remains. Freeman provides helpful biographical material on each composer represented.

Describing this collection as a two-volume set is somewhat misleading. It is, in effect, a book and its sequel. Volume 2 was published several years after the first to fill in some holes. For this reason, operas from one composer may be divided disproportionately between both volumes, and neither volume indexes the contents of the other.

Consolidating both volumes would enhance navigation and presumably reduce the cost, which is without question the least desirable feature of this competent set.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, November 27, 2009

By 

Chicken Eddie "Emiliano Zapata" (LEBANON, PA, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas (v. 1) (Hardcover)

The book did not come with a dust cover, but the picture showed it did.

The picture was misleading.

The book itself is OK, but if I could get the dust cover to match my other editions I would then be satisfied.