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Opera 101

A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera

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Opera 101

By: Fred Plotkin
Narrated by: Fred Plotkin
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About this listen

 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.

Opera 101 is recognized as the standard text in English for anyone who wants to become an opera lover. It is a clear, friendly, and truly complete handbook for 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 listeners, whatever their level of musical knowledge, to all the elements that make up opera.

The major part of Opera 101 is devoted to an almost minute-by-minute analysis of 11 key operas, ranging from Verdi's thunderous masterpiece Rigoletto and Puccini's electrifying Tosca to works by Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, and to the psychological complexities of Richard Strauss's Elektra. Once you have completed Opera 101, you will be prepared to see and hear any opera you encounter, thanks to this book's unprecedented detail and enjoyable method of revealing the riches of opera.

©1994 Fred Plotkin (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks Entertainment & Celebrities Instruction & Technique Music Celebrity Opera Ghost Haunted Entertainment Musician Middle Ages Italy
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If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

the book is good my problem is ;I want the audio after download no reprodaction at all.

What was most disappointing about Fred Plotkin’s story?

Good enough for people loving the music of any kind

I can`t hear any thing after download,of this audi

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An accessible & detailed guide for new Opera audiences, or as a great review for those renewing their acquaintance with Opera - by someone who 'knows his stuff'!

Best listening is at slower speed as there is a lot of information to digest in this resource. The physical book is handy for quick future reference, as there are no Chapter titles or index with the Audible version.

Despite the foregoing, I highly recommend the audio version.

SUPERB Overview & Handbook of Opera

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