“Pogue is a wonderful teacher… He can teach anybody.”— Gay Talese, bestselling author of Honor Thy Father
“Scott Speck is a great communicator of classical music…. Concert audiences and readers alike can’t help getting caught up in the joy of his subject.”
— David Styers, American Symphony Orchestra League
Opera is weird. Everybody wears makeup and sings all the time. Even when they’re singing your language, which is rare, you still can’t understand the words. Women play men, men play women, and 45-year-olds play teenagers. All the main characters seem to get killed off. And when somebody dies, he takes ten minutes to sing about it. Yet, for all its weirdness, an operatic experience is an experience in breathtaking beauty. When you hear a soprano float a soft high C, or a tenor singing a love song, or a full-throated chorus in the climax of a scene’s dramatic finale, you can’t help getting goosebumps.
Want to experience all that beauty for yourself, but don’t know where to begin? Opera For Dummies is an excellent place to start. Written by an acclaimed conductor and a musical director, this friendly guide tells you what you need to know to:
- Understand opera from the Baroque and Roman periods through today
- Interpret characters, orchestra, chorus, and other players
- Understand what’s happening, both on stage and off
- Choose the best seats
- Identify famous operas
- Build a great collection of opera recordings
- Locate opera sites and chat groups online
Whether you’re interested in attending a live opera, want to build a collection of recordings, or just want to be able to talk about opera intelligently, Opera For Dummies is for you. Among other things, you’ll explore:
- The words, the music, and the people who sing it
- The history of opera and the lives of the great composers
- Going to the opera — including tips for getting tickets, preparing for the opera, dressing for the opera, and more
- Musical and theatrical conventions used in opera
- In-depth synopses of the world’s most beloved operas
On the bonus CD you’ll find:
- More than 60 minutes of music compiled especially for the book
- A multimedia piece for PC or MAC
Wonder what it is about opera that can make a grown person cry like a baby? Find out in Opera For Dummies.
Price: $24.99
Grasp the concepts needed to compose, deconstruct, and comprehend music
As society becomes more international in nature, knowing a few words in other languages has become more useful. Perhaps you travel frequently abroad, or your business requires you to travel overseas. Perhaps you have friends and neighbors who speak other languages, or you want to find out more about your heritage by learning a little bit of the language your ancestors spoke.
Many people grimace at the sound of music theory. It can conjure up bad memories of grade school music classes, rattle the brains of college students, and make self-taught musicians feel self-defeated. Music Theory may seem tedious and unnecessary, especially since not many people can read music.