0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
If this is all you want, this one will do as well as another, March 16, 2007
This review is from: Tosca/the Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series (Paperback)
The previous reviewer makes a very strong case for this series. In fact, he is so impressed by this series that he sings the praises no less than twenty-eight of "The Opera Journeys Mini Guides" here in Amazon--and, as I write this, offers comment on nothing else, on no other publication ... nothing. He is so taken with these "Mini Guides" that each and every one of his twenty-eight five-star reviews begins, "The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is just wonderful; it's like a "Cliff Note" [sic] of the opera, and extremely informative and educational." And every one of his twenty-eight reviews ends with "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."
How fortunate the gentleman is to have found a subject on which he can lay such honest, heartfelt and unstinting praise. And so often, too.
As for myself, I am not quite so enthusiastic. This "Mini Guide" to Puccini's "Tosca," and others of the series that have fallen into my hands from time to time, delivers pretty much what it says it will do. If you are actually willing to be satisfied with sio small a thing as a CliffsNotes approach to opera, these "Mini Guides" will serve as well as any--although the asking price strikes me as a bit steep.
However, I wish to suggest alternatives. First, haul yourself away from your computer. Then, and go out to see the opera.
If you don't have an opera company nearby, call up your local college, university or conservatory and ask what the opera workshop is doing. (Here in Vancouver, the student productions at the University of British Columbia for the past few years have consistently been better sung and better produced than those of the Vancouver Opera--and available for a vastly lower ticket cost.)
If no live performances are available in your area, then go ahead and invest in a DVD or a CD. Older performances of operas which in many cases can only be described as superb can be found on CD right here at Amazon for about the price of this pamphlet. The DVDs will cost you about the same as a single ticket in the cheapest seats in a professional opera house.
Actual performances will give you pleasure and enrich your soul in a way that these or any other such arid distillations and simulations cannot.
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2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mini-sized guide laden with maxi-helpful information, September 6, 2000
This review is from: Tosca/the 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.
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