Opera Anecdotes (Oxford Paperbacks)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.96 (514 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0195056612 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-08-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Goggle-Eyed Slewfoot said light, easy reading. Don't pick up this book at bedtime if you have to get up early next morning. You might not be able to put it down until you finish it.The book is not a historical source, but nor does it purport to be. He tells of an organ-grinder who was playing the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana. Mascagni passes by and advises him to play it at a different tempo. The next day, the organ-grinder is seen wearing a sign saying "Student of Mascagni." In other anecdote collections, the organ-grinder is either a "Student of Verdi" playing an excerpt from Il Trovatore or a "Student of Puccini" playing Musetta's Waltz from . �What time�s the next swan?� ealovitt This book consists of operatic biographies-by-anecdote. If anyone remotely connected to opera in the past three hundred years said or did anything clever, then he or she is lovingly quoted in "Opera Anecdotes."Sometimes, as in "The Famous Story of Handel's Cook," the reader might have to strain to find the humor:"How great a composer was Gluck? Some say very great---"The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera" calls him `opera's second founder.' Handel said not so great: `he knows no more uff counterpoint zan mein cook!'"Handel's rollicking commentary is included in Mordden's anecdotal sketch of Christoph Willi. Just me I absolutely enjoyed this book. Very informative. It arrived in excellent condition which was indicated prior to purchase Will read it again I am sure.
Ethan Mordden has mined the literature for "the best stories" and retells them in the fresh and witty style that prompted Publishers Weekly to hail him as "one of the most entertaining and provocative writers around." Mordden has selected a vast collection of classic, arcane and unusual anecdotes, including Giuseppe Verdi's advice on how to run an opera house and how to write an aria, Enrico Caruso's adventures in the San Francisco earthquake, Arturo Toscanini's reunion dinner with his former lover Geraldine Farrar, and Beverly Sills' ad libbing from the Met balcony during a Lily Pons Lakmé. They bring us close to a moment in which art is invented, revised, elaborated. From backstage squabbles and box-office chicanery to the gallantry and glory of creation, this book unveils a delightful panorama of opera lore, alternately hilarious, poignant, and wise. The characters of opera's adventures are so vital and stimulating that almost anything they do enlightens us.". The volume contains sad stories, too, as when Hans von Bülow confronts his wife Cosima after she has left
. Ethan Mordden has taught at Yale University and is the author of numerous books, including The American Theatre, A Guide to Orchestral Music, Broadway Babies, Opera in the Twentieth Century, and A Guide to Opera Recordings
An opera lovers' handbook that should always be near at hand."--Schuyler G. Chapin"An entertaining anthology of opera fact and fiction.The author obviously relishes his task and has chosen the material well."--Library Journal"Entertaining and frequently insightful.A very fine book; it is well worth reading."--Best Sellers"Mordden, who knows his way around backstagehas gleefully amassed hundreds of such anecdotes, exchanges and choice bits of opera lore."--Time"Morddenhas collected some of the most famous anecdotes--fact and fiction--to keep the conversation at many a music-lover's table humming."--