Opera is one of the most spectacular and exhilarating art forms in the world, but is often perceived as being difficult for children to understand. This new paperback with CD edition tells a different story. Author Shahrukh Husain has selected seven classical operas, retelling them in a way that will capture the imagination of today s children. Each story opens with background information on the composer and a scene-setting introduction, while end-notes offer advice for parents on best recordings.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Let this book once and for all dispel any notions that children will not like opera. As this collection demonstrates, beneath that ornate and unfamiliar music are stories of fantasy, romance and suspense that have enchanted young and old for centuries . . . Parents who want to encourage an appreciation of music in their offspring will be hard-pressed to find a more accessible introduction of opera." --ForeWord Magazine
"Misplaced your libretto? Not to worry. The Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera highlights the tales of The Little Sweep, The Magic Flute and five other operas. Tall, narrow illustrations by James Mayhew flank the text, and opulent framed full-page artwork mimics the stage." --Publishers Weekly
"Let this book once and for all dispel any notions that children will not like opera. As this collection demonstrates, beneath that ornate and unfamiliar music are stories of fantasy, romance and suspense that have enchanted young and old for centuries . . . Parents who want to encourage an appreciation of music in their offspring will be hard-pressed to find a more accessible introduction of opera." --ForeWord Magazine
"Misplaced your libretto? Not to worry. The Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera highlights the tales of The Little Sweep, The Magic Flute and five other operas. Tall, narrow illustrations by James Mayhew flank the text, and opulent framed full-page artwork mimics the stage." --Publishers Weekly
"Let this book once and for all dispel any notions that children will not like opera. As this collection demonstrates, beneath that ornate and unfamiliar music are stories of fantasy, romance and suspense that have enchanted young and old for centuries . . . Parents who want to encourage an appreciation of music in their offspring will be hard-pressed to find a more accessible introduction of opera." --ForeWord Magazine
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Appreciate This Musical Genre,
This review is from: Stories from the Opera (Paperback)
Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera Retold By Shahrukh Husain, Illustrated by James Mayhew is just the book for parents and kids alike, as you will learn the stories of seven of the world's favorite operas. Because operas are usually sung in foreign languages many people don't feel they are sophistocated enough to understand and so deprive themselves of this beautiful music genre. How wonderful if we had each learned to appreciate opera as children. This is the book to do it. Included are two CD's in which the stories in the book are read, so children can listen without adult participation. However, I felt this is the only thing lacking in the collection: I would have preferred to have the CD play the opera music while the child or adult reads the book. Of course, the opera music and videos are available in most libraries. The end notes of the book tell about famous opera houses of the world and about each of the composers of the seven operas in the book. This is a valuable book for any age.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended! Beautifully illustrated!,
By Chickadee (skagit valley) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Stories from the Opera (Paperback)
I purchased this book when preparing to teach a unit on the history of music at a small part-time private school. The book is a good introduction to the stories of the opera but the illustrations are what really drew me in. Such beautiful colorplates! Amazing! The artistic layout and illustrations make the book-helped the stories come alive! The writing sometimes gets a bit scattered...perhaps if an extra page or so were given to each story, a bit more detail in the right places could have provided a better understanding of the plot. Not to criticize the author, no small feat to take a complicated storyline/plot and summarize it in a suitable manner for children... The accompanying CD was a bit disappointing-I was expecting to hear selections from each opera but instead it is a recording of the written book with about a 10 second bit of instrumental (no vocals) music at the end of each story. Would have been great if the recording were interspersed with corresponding selections of the actual opera soundtrack. HOWEVER-I would highly recommend this book because the illustrations are enough to inspired interest in the opera and children will greatly enjoy the stories-read aloud, or as a recorded book with accompanying CD.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Introduction for Children to Opera,
By
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This review is from: Stories from the Opera (Paperback)
This was a Christmas present to a friend who is an opera buff and has a young daughter.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Opera, as we know it today, was created in Florence in Italy, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, when certain kinds of comedy and spectacular masked performances began to make lavish use of music. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
little sweep Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Baggott, Don Magnifico, The Magic Flute, Black Bob, Queen of Night, The Little Sweep, Prince Ramiro, Mount Olympus, Christmas Eve, Ikon Hall Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Opera, as we know it today, was created in Florence in Italy, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, when certain kinds of comedy and spectacular masked performances began to make lavish use of music. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
little sweep Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Miss Baggott, Don Magnifico, The Magic Flute, Black Bob, Queen of Night, The Little Sweep, Prince Ramiro, Mount Olympus, Christmas Eve, Ikon Hall Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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