Item Detail
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Anderson, James
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Kimberley, Nick, revision
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Dictionary of opera
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Book
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3rd ed.
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London
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c1998
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Bloomsbury Publishers
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xiv, 656 p. ; 24 cm
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English
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0747538743; 9780747538745
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Operetta--Dictionaries
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Operas; Operettas
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ML 102 .O6 A6 1998
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Anderson, James. Dictionary of Opera, 3d ed. Revised by Nick Kimberly. London: Bloomsbury, 1998.
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Concise definitions and descriptions of opera related terms. A guide to the basics of opera and operetta. Focuses on operas and their composers as well as some singers.
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A source, covering over 520 operas. The main focus is on works of the standard repertoire. Special attention was given to including works from early opera like those of Lully and others. Modern operas, like those of Glass, are included as are operettas. Entries are made for composers, and singers of the modern age. Singers of past eras are only included if they have special historic significance.
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The main body is arranged alphabetically and all of the entries, whether for people or operas, are integrated. The entries are meant to be user friendly. To this end they are short and concise with few abbreviations. Opera entries include the title, composer, librettist, number of acts, characters (with voice types), premiere dates and a plot summary. People in opera have a very brief biography which includes roles sung (if a singer) and operas composed (if a composer). There are also brief entries for terms and for operatic roles. Two appendices follow the main text. The first is a chronology of opera and the second is a list of c. 760 operas that have been recorded commercially. They are listed alphabetically by composer. Each composer's works are then listed alphabetically.
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Second appendix tells which operas have been recorded but not by whom or which ones are available. Some information may be out of date because the book was originally published in 1989.
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BYU Mus Ref
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2292