| The
Bluffer's Guide to Opera |
| By
Peter Gammond |
| |
| Extracts
from the book | |
| |
| Native
tongue |
| The
true opera buff is staunchly for opera in the original language, knowing full
well that it is likely to be twice as tedious to know what is going on as not
to know. |
| |
| Opera
repertoire |
| The
names of operas should generally be spoken in the original language unless it
is too obvious what they mean and familiarity has bred suitable contempt - e.g.
The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville.
It shows a true familiarity with the opera repertoire if you abbreviate these
to The Flute, The Marriage and The Barber. |
| |
| Plot |
| It
is fairly safe to make up bits of an opera plot as nobody is likely to challenge
its validity. A fair number of them are just as intelligible after reading the
synopsis as before. |
| |
| Acting
ability |
| Opera
singers have their fair share of genius, namely the ability to sing and execute
a trill or two. The problem is they are required to act as well. |
| |
| Libretto |
| The
opera plot is generally referred to as the libretto from the Italian meaning 'little
book' - i.e. 'small', 'insignificant' and 'hardly worth reading'. |
| |
| Reviews |
|
| |
| Jam-packed
full of invaluable gems... fool-proof cover for high-powered dinner parties. |
| Opera
Now |
| |
| Anyone
wanting to unearth the mysteries of opera should steer clear of Kobbé's
Complete Opera and get the low-down from the Bluffer's Guide. |
| The
Weekend Telegraph |
| |
| Table
of Contents | |
| |
|
Some Basic Definitions The
Beginnings of Opera
Further History The
Operatic World
Critics and Historians
Audiences and Opera Lovers
Singers
Gestures
Props
Voices
A Few Good Phrases
Voices of
the Past Opera
Plots Useful
Operas Operetta
Modern Stuff
Composers
Mozart
Verdi
Wagner
The Inis and the Ettis
Puccini
Donizetti
Bellini
Rossini
Beethoven
Bizet
Boito
Borodin
Britten
Cimarosa
Debussy
Giordano
Gluck
Gounod
Handel
Humperdinck
Janacek
Leoncavallo
Mascagni
Massenet
Menotti
Meyerbeer
Monteverdi
Nicolai
Offenbach
Paisiello
Ponchielli
Salieri
Smetana
Strauss
Thomas
Thomson Death
Notes Some
Good Quotes Glossary
|
| |
Fortune
Telling
