Porgy and Bess/Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series [Paperback]

Burton D. Fisher (Author), George, Gershwin (Author), 1898-1937 (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mini Guide Series | Publication Date: August 1, 2000

A complete guide to Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS, which includes the STORY SYNOPSIS, PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS in the opera, 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 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

Product Details

• Paperback: 36 pages
• Publisher: Opera Journeys Pub (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930841191
• ISBN-13: 978-1930841192
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 3.6 x 0.1 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: #1,652,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Burton D. Fisher is a former opera conductor who studied at the Mannes and Juilliard schools. He is currently the author-publisher of over 130 books about opera: Opera Classics Library Series; Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series; Opera Journeys Libretto Series; the Puccini Companion: the Glorious Dozen; and the popular text adopted by many colleges and universities, A History of Opera: Milestones and Metamorphoses. He is principal lecturer for the Opera Journeys Lecture Series at Florida International University, a commissioned author for Season Opera guides and Program Notes for regional opera companies, a translator of librettos for record producers (Sony-BMG),and a frequent opera commentator on National Public Radio.

Opera at Movie Theaters: 2011-2012, an annual guide to opera simulcasts and screenings at movie theaters, is now available at the Amazon Kindle store in E-PUB format, and in PRINT and E-BOOK pdf format at the Opera Journeys Publishing web site: www.operajourneys.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

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

This review is from: Porgy and Bess/Opera Journeys 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.