When the Fat Lady Sings: Opera History As It Ought To Be Taught [Paperback]

David W. Barber (Author), Dave Donald (Illustrator), Maureen Forrester (Preface), Anna Russell (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2000

In the 10 years since its first publication, When the Fat Lady Sings has sold more than 60,000 copies worldwide. Now, to celebrate a decade of delighting opera fans and foes alike, musical historian and humorist David Barber has prepared a special revised and expanded edition of his hilarious bestselling history of opera. Chapters such as Serious Buffoonery, Teutonic Tunesmiths and, of course, Italian Sausage Machines display Barber's rapier wit and knack for knowing fascinating, if sometimes useless, information about music, musicians and the offbeat world they live in. This expanded edition includes new material ranging from Strauss to ragtime, opera to the Tenor Menace. From Italian castrati to German Ring-bearers, from Handel's fights with rival sopranos to Puccini's nicotine habit, the author of Bach, Beethoven and the Boys and Tenors, Tantrums and Trills delivers a funny yet informative, irreverent yet affectionate history of serious music's most serious art form as only he can - and as only he would dare to do.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Barber is a journalist, author, composer and performer who lives and works in Toronto.

Dave Donald works as an art director for a Toronto-based national magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Sound And Vision; Revised and Expanded edition (October 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0920151345
• ISBN-13: 978-0920151341
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,142,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT Way To Learn Opera!!, December 30, 2000

By 

"mikey38" (Orefield, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Fat Lady Sings: Opera History As It Ought To Be Taught (Paperback)

I am a music major at college and study opera intensivly. There are some really boring books on the subject, but When The Fat Lady Sings is NOT one of them! All of the facts were there and were presented in a way that kept my attention. I would reccomend this book to the music student looking to brush up on composers, to the people who want to know a little more about what opera is, and to the person who wants something interesting to say at a cocktail party. Anyone can learn something from this book with or without music knowledge. I didn't think a book could be written about opera that is both true to the subject AND funny. Well done Mr. Barber!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro to Opera History, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: When the Fat Lady Sings: Opera History As It Ought To Be Taught (Paperback)

This book tells all the fun stuff that you don't usually hear about opera composers along with a sturdy structure of opera history. Easy to read and intensely funny, this book's only weakness is that it misses a lot of important composers and concentrates on a couple of unimportant ones. Thus, the reader is left with a feeling like the author got tired of writing and stopped halfway through. If the author added enough information for this book to be more comprehensive representation of opera history, it would a wonderful book for both opera experts and opera neophytes.

5.0 out of 5 stars Opera for all, November 2, 2008

By 

A. Tulud "Lally May" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When the Fat Lady Sings: Opera History As It Ought To Be Taught (Paperback)

Great starter book for anyone new to opera. Good facts and figures but presented like a human being. Laughed all the way through.