Item Detail
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Martin, George Whitney
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The opera companion to twentieth-century opera
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Book
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New York, N.Y.
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1979
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Dodd, Mead
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xvi, 653 p. ; 24 cm.
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English
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0396075940; 9780396075943
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Operas--Stories, plots, etc.
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Operas; Opera Plots; Twentieth Century
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MT 95 .M253
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Martin, George. The Opera Companion To Twentieth-Century Opera. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1979.
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A companion for those who like opera, go to performances, perhaps occasionally buy a recording but are not musically trained. The volume's purpose is to help these people make sense of twentieth-century opera.
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The author selected the operas for inclusion that are most often performed, which are recorded, and which are gaining rather than losing popularity. Some of the greater composers, however, have lesser known works included. The author defines the twentieth century stylistically, beginning his selections in 1910 (except in Part III of the book). The form and content of the synopses depends on the detail of the opera and compositional style. The author has tried to reveal the opera's substance and musical structurewhat it is about as well as the events. Theatrical aspects of the music are stressed in the coverage, such as musical themes and instruments that represent characters and ideas. Differences in scenes among versions, and forms (such as tone rows) which would be of interest only to the scholar are not included. There are no recordings covered, and in Part III, many twentieth-century operas are not included as they were intended for smaller theaters not included in the research.
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Volume consists of three parts. Part I consists of seven essays; one is a general survey of twentieth-century opera, the others examine specific aspects of the genre. Part II is the main section, consisting of the synopses of 78 operas, by 22 different composers. The synopses include average timings for scenes and acts; the longer synopses also include lists of arias, choruses, interludes, ballets, etc. Scenes, acts, and settings are described as the composer indicated, and the opera is presented uncut, with indications as to where cuts are usually made. The operas are listed first under the composer's name and then by year of premier. Details of the premiers, librettists and sources follow. The opera description begins with a list of principal characters, followed by setup information such as background story, important themes that will be treated, and costuming. Act summaries are very detailed, paraphrasing not only ideas, but dialogue as well, identifying which characters are speaking. Key words that relate to forms (i.e. chorus, waltz, main aria names) are bolded for easy reference. A vocabulary list is included that gives the translation for foreign language words within the libretto that are of special interest and importance. Part III, which has an explanatory introduction, includes statistics on what has been and what is being performed in some of the world's opera houses. The time period for this section is not restricted to post-1910. 23 houses and companies are listed, each of the 23 has a table listing the operas most frequently performed within a long period, which is often the life of the institution. Eight of the houses also have a table that shows the list of operas being performed within shorter periodswhich shows the changing popularity of the works through time. A Bibliography follows that includes sources the author consulted as well as sources he considers interesting. Lastly, the index alphabetically lists and integrates titles, composers, terms, and songs with page numbers for locating them within Part II.
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The writing style is personable and very easy to read. Inspires further reading and interest in the subject, and it is apparent that the author enjoyed the work.
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BYU Mus Ref
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3790