Item Detail
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Batta, András
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Neef, Sigrid
Aston, Paul, et al., translator -
Opera. English
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Book
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English ed.
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Köln
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c2000
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Könemann
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923 p. : ill. (mostly col.), music ; 31 cm.
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English
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3829035713
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Opera--Encyclopedias.
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Operas; Composers; Performers
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ML 102 .O6 B2913 2000
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Batta, Andras. Opera: Komponisten, Werke, Interpreten. (Opera: Composers, Works, Performers) ed. Sigrid Neef. Koln: Könemann 1999. Reprint in English Köln: Könemann 2000.
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The book provides general information on composers, operas, and performers. The book is a good tool for those who would like to familiarize themselves with the content and historical background of a specific opera.
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Opera has been translated from German into English. It covers four centuries of opera of western European music, 388 operas from 124 composers. The life accomplishments of Mozart, Puccini, Richard Strauss, Verdi and Wagner are presented in greater detail. Special attention was paid to the selection of the repertoire for the twentieth century.
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Opera lists the included composers in alphabetical order. Information on the composers isn't detailed and includes only birth and death date and focuses on their studies and careers as musicians. The individual operas are listed in chronological order of their opening night and are found under the composer. Historical information on the development of trends in opera is inserted when discussing an individual work (e.g. Eroticism in opera is found under Mozart's Don Giovanni). Most operas include musical examples. The book is heavily illustrated in color as well as black and white. The information on the performers is found in brief captions. The Appendix includes: 1. a glossary of musical terms, 2. an index of works at the end of the book listed in alphabetical order of works 3. an index of the pages with historical information 4. an opera chronology organized in four centuries and in chronological order of the dates of opening night (where available) 5. a selective bibliography listing reference works, general surveys, and composers. The bibliography is not in Turabian format. It lists edition, city and year of publication. 6. an index of persons 7. a listing of musical excerpts in the order in which they were mentioned in the text 8. a subject index that lists the topics discussed in the commentaries alphabetically. The pages in bold refer to a definition found in the glossary. 9. picture credits 10. a list of abbreviations 11. authors 12. acknowledgments.
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Very valuable is the chronological listing of opening nights of the operas and their categorization in the centuries. The pictures make the operas come alive. Many of them are old and unique photographs.
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BYU Mus Ref
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2367