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mimsen's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
slow-paced
3.75
This is one for the hardcore opera lovers, the ones who really want to go deep into details. Sometimes, the authors got a little lost in those details I think. They got deep into the structur of certain operatic works, but in the introduction they ask, how come, that opera fascinates some people so deeply, the travel the world to see new productions or their favorite singer perform (And i am one of those people), but they never gave us a conclusion or an answer to this question.
And it bothered me, that when it comes to modern day productions, they almost exclusively refered to Us productions. I know the authors are from the us, but as a fan you normaly follow Performances all over the world, and think european operahouses have a lot to offer. And there are a lot of Performances in asia as well.
But overall a very interesting and informative read.
And it bothered me, that when it comes to modern day productions, they almost exclusively refered to Us productions. I know the authors are from the us, but as a fan you normaly follow Performances all over the world, and think european operahouses have a lot to offer. And there are a lot of Performances in asia as well.
But overall a very interesting and informative read.
bub_9's review against another edition
2.0
This is very odd. It's simultaneously very superficial and also rather inaccessible, a series of essays about some operas instead of a coherent narrative about the opera.
Still, anyone who enjoys music seriously will find much of interest here.
Still, anyone who enjoys music seriously will find much of interest here.
rgould's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was a fun romp through the history of opera. The authors write with a nice sense of humor, and do a nice job of emphasizing important themes, such as the difficulty of dealing with spoken word. They also do a wonderful job of comparing and contrasting operatic trends with modern entertainment trends, and make an argument that similarities are more than coincidental. I found it hard to go through the book without turning to my CD collection and a friend's collection to play and re-play some of the discussed operas, many of which I enjoyed from a new perspective.
arfserra's review against another edition
Tentei muito com esse livro, mas a leitura simplesmente não engrenou. Muito vai e volta. Pouca estrutura. Para não-ficção, prefiro coisas menos devaneadas.
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