A Song of Love and Death: The Meaning of OperaA Song of Love and Death: The Meaning of Opera Graywolf's updated edition of this classic book on opera includes a new afterword by author Peter Conrad. Arguing that opera's deepest roots lie in our most fundamental human rituals, Peter Conrad shows us the faces of the gods that still hover over the pageant--gods of music, abandon, evil, love. then, with the dizzying skill of a practiced literary and cultural critic, the author takes us on a ride through the repertoire of operas past and present. Finally, he brings us to the climactic moment of the form: the performance. We meet the great personalities--from Puccini to Bernstein to Domingo--in their element, and see anew how their celebrity and their artistry affect us all. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Aida Apollo aria Bayreuth begins Berlioz Boris Brünnhilde Callas calls Carmen century characters chorus classical comedy comic composer Cosi Fan Tutte Covent Garden dance death demon Die Zauberflöte Dionysian Dionysus divine Don Giovanni drama dream duet Elektra Elvira emotional Enée erotic Euridice Falstaff Faust Fidelio Figaro film Gluck's Glyndebourne gods Götterdämmerung heaven hero heroine human Idomeneo Isolde Jenůfa José kill Leporello Les Troyens Lulu lyrical Massenet's Méphistophélès Met's Monteverdi's moral Mozart's myth Nilsson once onstage opera oratorio orchestra Orfeo Orpheus Otello Parsifal performance play political Ponnelle Poppea production Puccini's Rigoletto Ring rite romantic Rossini's Rysanek Salome Samson says Scarpia scene score second act sensual sexual Siegfried singers singing social society song sound stage Strauss Tannhäuser tells theater theatrical third act tion Tosca tragedy tragic Tristan Tristan and Isolde Troyens Verdi Verdi's Vickers Violetta vocal voice Wagner Wagnerian words Wozzeck Zauberflöte Zeffirelli