Opera: Recommended Reading?

[huntsman]

I couldn't find a thread on opera books and was wondering which is your 'go to'...? 

Did check out the 'Resources' thread which is very helpful, but still looking for that 'go to' volume...does it exist?

Oh, some clarity is required:

I'm after a book that will explain / give an overview of the major operas, as we get little to no opera here, and I will have to resort to DVD's...

[Karl Henning]

A good general history is Joseph Kerman's Opera as Drama.

[Mandryka]

I couldn't find a thread on opera books and was wondering which is your 'go to'...? 

Did check out the 'Resources' thread which is very helpful, but still looking for that 'go to' volume...does it exist?

Oh, some clarity is required:

I'm after a book that will explain / give an overview of the major operas, as we get little to no opera here, and I will have to resort to DVD's...

Kobbe's Complete Opera Guide, and Ernst Newman's books on the Wagner operas. That should do the job.

But I would just plunge into youtube and see what you like, Verdi or Wagner or Mozart or Monteverdi or Berg. And then just take it from there. The books about opera are a waste of space really, especially because you have subtitles.

More interesting would be a book about production values and styles and aims. But I don't know a modern one.


For what it's worth the first opera that I enjoyed was Verdi's Otello. I then moved  very rapidly to Parsifal, Tristan and The Ring, as I found very little Italian opera was my thing. Only later on I discovered Monteverdi and Mozart, who are now my favourites.

[bigshot]

For recordings, I find Blythe's Opera on Record 1 and 2 useful.

[Tsaraslondon]

A good general history is Joseph Kerman's Opera as Drama.

A little old fashioned now, and heavily biased in favour of the German repertoire. It is in this book that Kerman calls Puccini's Tosca a shabby little shocker.

[huntsman]

Thank you for the suggestions thus far. There seems to be no real consensus regarding guides, but you raise an interesting point, sanantonio - libretti. Where would I obtain these? I was kind of hoping they would be included in the book...

[Elgarian]

If you have any interest in Wagner, I'd be surprised if you weren't fascinated by John Culshaw's Ring Resounding - the account of the recording of the famous Solti Ring. It's full of insights into the music, and of all my opera books, this is by far the most frequently re-read, and the one that most reliably inspires me to return to the discs and the music to listen again, and again.

[huntsman]

Thanks Elgarian -

I'm expecting the Solti set any day now, so I will certainly scoot over to Amazon for a look, but for this thread I need a book that will cover many operas if possible.

Here's what I have bought: I hope it will suffice...

[Elgarian]

I'm expecting the Solti set any day now ...

Well, that clinches it. Culshaw's book will enormously enrich your enjoyment of the Solti set. (Yes, I know it's not the kind of recommendation you were seeking, but I thought I'd make it anyway.)

Of the general 'introduction to opera' type of books, I can't say I've found any of them all that useful - certainly not enough for me to feel able to make a recommendation.

[Karl Henning]

A little old fashioned now, and heavily biased in favour of the German repertoire. It is in this book that Kerman calls Puccini's Tosca a shabby little shocker.

Isn't there a somewhat fresher edition?

In any case — the topic is opera! Almost any author will work in a sneer or two which the prudent reader will leave out at the Curb of the Intellect.

[Wendell_E]

Thanks Elgarian -

but for this thread I need a book that will cover many operas if possible.

Then I'd definitely recommend Kobbé's Complete Opera Guide, which is mentioned above.   I've got a 1976 edition.  Not sure of the exact count, but the first page of the table of contents has almost 50 operas, and there are six more pages of contents, so around 350 in total.

[mc ukrneal]

Thank you for the suggestions thus far. There seems to be no real consensus regarding guides, but you raise an interesting point, sanantonio - libretti. Where would I obtain these? I was kind of hoping they would be included in the book...

Libretti are rearely included in anything anymore! There are places on the net where you can find them if you do a search though. You can also check out what the companies make available on their sites. Brilliant, Decca, and EMI have some. Other companies like CHandos and Hyperion have all their booklets on their site, so if they have something, you will be able to see it. Otherwise, you can try: http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/librettim.html. It's a good first stop.

[Karl Henning]

Something like this to start. 

The Opera Libretto Library: The Authentic Texts of the German, French, and Italian Operas With Music of the Principal Airs

Nice!

[Octave]

Something like this to start. 

The Opera Libretto Library: The Authentic Texts of the German, French, and Italian Operas With Music of the Principal Airs

I like the lowest-star Amazon review: "Is not complete."  Everybody's a critic!

[huntsman]

Fantastic responses from everyone!

As with most successful threads requesting recommendations, this one ends with the OP spending oodles into the economy. Perfect! 

[huntsman]

This is the better choice but really expensive unless you want to take your chances with a used copy (which might be fine; I have bouight plenty of used books and been very happy).


[asin]1884822797[/asin]

In reading about the other one, I am not sure if it has English translations.

Wow! The new ones in the UK start at EURO 443!

I took your advice and got a second hand one for EURO 41. 

[Wendell_E]

In reading about the other one, I am not sure if it has English translations.

It does, but they're "singing" translations.  Old singing translations.  But looking at the customer reviews of 101 Opera Librettos, it looks like it's pretty much the same, "a collection of reprinted, out-of-copyright libretti from the 1900s and 1910s", as one reviewer says.

[kishnevi]

Tosca is a little shocker!  Just not a shabby one!

On the main topic--there's a trio of books meant for operatic neophytes on Wagner, Verdi and Puccini by William Berger.  Sometimes too cutesy for its own good, and sometimes it inflicts jokes so corny as to be the equivalent of a field in Iowa, and of course very composer specific,  but I enjoyed reading them several years back.  This is the Wagner one; the Amazon page has links to the other two books.


http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Without-Fear-Love---Enjoy--Operas/dp/0375700544/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366341467&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=Wagner+without+worry

[Parsifal]

I may be in the minority here, but I think with the exception of Wagner, I would not recommend reading about opera, just listening.  The story of your typical Italian Opera is about as sophisticated as an episode of the Simpsons, though the music is glorious.  Wagner is like a Simpson's episode written is cipher.

[Octave]

I have already gotten quite a bit of use out of these two.  (The Mozart volume was selling in new 'bargain' hardback for a pittance at one point; you can still get it relatively cheap, considering it's a big nice hardcover with beautifully readable typeface.  The Spencer RING libretto also includes a number of essays that I found interesting, at least from my tyro standpoint.)


SEVEN MOZART LIBRETTOS (trans. J.D. McClatchy - bilingual edition)
ASIN: B00AZ99PNE
Libretti for: The Magic Flute, Idomeneo, The Abduction from the Seraglio, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così Fan Tutte, La Clemenza di Tito


WAGNER'S RING OF THE NIBELUNG - A COMPANION (ed. Spencer/Millington - bilingual German/English)
ISBN-10: 0500281947