Item Detail
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Payne, Alexis
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Grands Operas du repertoire : resume des livrets, analyses musicales, discographie
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Book
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Paris
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c1979
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Fayard
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574 p. ; 23 cm.
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French
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221300675X
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Opera--Dictionaries--French.
Operas--Stories, plots, etc.
Operas--Discography. -
Operas; Opera Plot Summaries; Opera Composers; France
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ML 102 .O6 P39 1979
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Payne Alexis. Grands operas du repertoire. Paris: Arthème Fayard, 1979.
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A good source of basic information on specific operas. Information is of the length and detail appropriate for program notes. Most appropriate for people needing quick information about a given opera. Identifies available recordings for each opera.
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Covers 100 works by prominent composers from 1600 to 1950. Most works are from the Romantic era. Included works are limited to the most well known operas included in standard opera house repertoire, usually by those composers considered the greatest, and are works with available recordings.
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Listed alphabetically by composers' last name, with each opera listed chronologically. Begins with a brief history of opera. Contains concise biographical information about the composer, organized alphabetically by composer name. Each composer's entry includes a biography which varies in length from composer to composer. Representative operatic works are then entered alphabetically. Information about each opera is a little inconsistent but may include information about the following: date of creation, the libretto, a plot summary with reference to numbers in the opera, an act-by-act overview, a list of important arias by act, and a short discography ranked by quality (suggested listening list).
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Appendices and indexes include useful information and are easy to navigate.
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Information is a bit dated including recordings only through 1979. Appendix on festivals and opera houses may not be accurate after so many years. Less thorough entries for composers and works deemed less important by the author.
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Le courrier musical de France 68 (1979): 153.
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BYU Mus Ref
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4022