Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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

When looking for an interesting and light overview of opera history, this is a great book. If you are looking for a brief overview that will keep your attention (unlike other history textbooks) and you like anecdotes, this book definitely fits the bill. I have taken many music history courses and am very familiar with history timelines, but this book gave me the interesting tidbits they don't always tell you about in the classroom. Very amusing, but not the resource if you're looking for the most "scholastic" book.

I bought this book after I had been in "Carmen". Mr. Barber brings out a funny story in operas that are meant to be sad, romantic, and makes the comical ones even more laughable. I reccommend this book to all lovers of opera