Michael White - The Collins Guide To Opera And Operetta

Published by Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 1997

Copyright © 1997 Michael White and Elaine Henderson All rights reserved.

Michael White and Elaine Henderson assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks

HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9780004720616

Ebook Edition © MARCH 2018 ISBN: 9780008299538

Version: 2018-05-16

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Published by Collins, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 1997 Copyright © 1997 Michael White and Elaine Henderson All rights reserved. Michael White and Elaine Henderson assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication Source ISBN: 9780004720616 Ebook Edition © MARCH 2018 ISBN: 9780008299538 Version: 2018-05-16

How to Use this Ebook How to Use this Ebook Over 180 operas and operettas, the major works of more than 70 composers, are covered in the Collins Guide to Opera and Operetta, an invaluable guide to this fascinating but sometimes misunderstood artform. The main body of the book is arranged alphabetically by composer, starting with Adams and continuing through to Zimmermann, taking in the likes of Britten, Mozart, Puccini, Strauss (Johann II and Richard), Sullivan, Verdi and Wagner along the way. The section for each composer begins with a list of their major operatic works arranged in chronological order by year of composition. Those operas set in bold type are featured in detail on the pages within each composer section. Biographical details and information on other non-operatic works set the operas in context. The featured operas for each composer are arranged in alphabetical order. Within the entry for each opera the presentation is exactly the same: Form, Composer, Libretto, First Performance, Principal Characters, Synopsis of the Plot, Music and Background, Highlights and Recommended Recording. The vast majority of the operas also feature an entertaining Did You Know? box including anecdotes and diverting background information. An overview of the history and development of opera and operetta, and a glossary of musical terms round out this indispensable reference source for opera devotees and newcomers alike.

Introduction

John Adams

Nixon in China

Samuel Barber

Vanessa

Béla Bartók

Duke Bluebeard’s Castle

Ludwig van Beethoven

Fidelio

Vincenzo Bellini

Norma

I Puritani

La Sonnambula

Alban Berg

Lulu

Wozzeck

Hector Berlioz

Béatrice et Bénédict

Les Troyens

Leonard Bernstein

Candide

A Quiet Place

Harrison Birtwistle

Gawain

Punch and Judy

Georges Bizet

Carmen

Les Pêcheurs de Perles

Arrigo Boito

Mefistofele

Alexander Borodin

Prince Igor

Benjamin Britten

Albert Herring

Billy Budd

Death in Venice

Gloriana

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Peter Grimes

The Rape of Lucretia

The Turn of the Screw

Alfredo Catalani

La Wally

Gustave Charpentier

Louise

Luigi Cherubini

Médée

Francesco Cilea

Adriana Lecouvreur

Domenico Cimarosa

Il Matrimonio Segreto

Peter Maxwell Davies

The Lighthouse

Claude Debussy

Pelléas et Mélisande

Léo Delibes

Lakmé

Gaetano Donizetti

Don Pasquale

L’Elisir d’Amore

La Fille du Régiment

Lucia di Lammermoor

Maria Stuarda

Antonin Dvořák

Rusalka

Gottfried von Einem

Dantons Tod

Manuel de Falla

La Vida Breve

John Gay

The Beggar’s Opera

George Gershwin

Porgy and Bess

Umberto Giordano

Andrea Chénier

Fedora

Philip Glass

Akhnaten

Mikhail Glinka

A Life for the Tsar

Ruslan and Lyudmila

Christoph Willibald Gluck

Alceste

Iphigénie en Tauride

Orfeo ed Euridice

Charles Gounod

Faust

Roméo et Juliette

George Frederick Handel

Alcina

Giulio Cesare

Semele

Serse

Tamerlano

Joseph Haydn

La Fedeltà Premiata

Hans Werner Henze