Description
When first published in 1947, A Short History of Opera immediately achieved international status as a classic in the field. This thoroughly revised and expanded fourth edition examines not only the standard performance repertoire, but also works considered important for the genre's development, from its Greek forerunners to the present day. The section on twentieth-century opera has been reorganized around national operatic traditions including a chapter devoted solely to opera in the United States, which incorporates material on the American musical and ties between classical opera and popular musical theater. With an extensive multilanguage bibliography, more than one hundred musical examples, and stage illustrations, this authoritative one-volume survey will be invaluable to students and serious opera buffs.
About the Author
Donald Jay Grout was, until his death in 1987, Given Foundation Professor of Musicology Emeritus at Cornell University. He was author of the classic A History of Western Music, and Alessandro Scarlatti: An Introduction to His Operas, as well as general editor of The Operas of Alessandro Scarlatti. Hermine Weigel Williams is Scholar-in Residence at Hamilton College. She has contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Music, The Operas of Alessandro Scarlatti, and The Symphony: 1720-1840. She is author of Francesco Bartolomeo Conti: His Life and Music, Sibelius and His Masonic Music, and co-author of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: A Guide to Research. She is also co-editor of Facts Behind the Songs: A Handbook of American Popular Music from the Nineties to the 90's.
Reviews
Whether it be Monteverdi or Gluck or Wagner, no saner guide than Grout can be recommended The Times Literary Supplement (of earlier edition) Combines learning with a grace of expression seldom encountered in works of this kind. The subject is treated in greater detail than the word 'short'might indicate. Saturday Review (of earlier edition) A Short History of Opera is perhaps one of the best known and most widely circulated texts on the history of this art form...This is a vitally important book, and it is likely to be one of the first places students, researchers, and fans will consult. -- Tom Kaufman The Opera Quarterly
Book Information
ISBN 9780231119580
Author Donald Grout
Format Hardback
Page Count 992
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press