{"product_id":"opera-101-a-complete-guide-to-learning-and-loving-opera-9780786880256","title":"Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera","description":"Opera is the fastest growing of all the performing arts, attracting audiences of all ages who are enthralled by the gorgeous music, vivid drama, and magnificent production values. If you've decided that the time has finally come to learn about opera and discover for yourself what it is about opera that sends your normally reserved friends into states of ecstatic abandon, this is the book for you.\u003ci\u003eOpera 101\u003c\/i\u003e is recognized as the standard text in English for anyone who wants to become an opera lover--a clear, friendly, and truly complete handbook to learning how to listen to opera, whether on the radio, on recordings, or live at the opera house. Fred Plotkin, an internationally respected writer and teacher about opera who for many years was performance manager of the Metropolitan Opera, introduces the reader (whatever his or her level of musical knowledge) to all the elements that make up opera, including: \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA brief, entertaining history of opera;\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn explanation of key operatic concepts, from vocal types to musical conventions;\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHints on the best way to approach the first opera you attend and how to best understand what is happening both offstage and on;\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLists of recommended books and recordings, and the most complete traveler's guide to opera houses around the world.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e The major part of \u003ci\u003eOpera 101\u003c\/i\u003e is devoted to an almost minute-by-minute analysis of eleven key operas, ranging from Verdi's thunderous masterpiece \u003ci\u003eRigoletto\u003c\/i\u003e and Puccini's electrifying \u003ci\u003eTosca\u003c\/i\u003e through works by Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, to the psychological complexities of Richard Strauss's \u003ci\u003eElektra\u003c\/i\u003e. Once you have completed \u003ci\u003eOpera 101\u003c\/i\u003e, you will be prepared to see and hear any opera you encounter, thanks to this book's unprecedentedly detailed and enjoyable method of revealing the riches of opera\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Hachette Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/01\/1994\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780786880256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 512\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.42h x 5.50w x 1.13d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/1994 pg. 569\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Fred Plotkin, Placido Domingo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42924914639029,"sku":"9780786880256","price":18.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_5673f771-c01d-4718-bd33-a87c42cdec87.jpg?v=1687841278","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/opera-101-a-complete-guide-to-learning-and-loving-opera-9780786880256","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}