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Weep, Shudder, Die: A Guide to Loving Opera
"Icouldn't imagine a finer or livelier guide through the world of opera. . . . [Levine] distills a lifetime of passion and insight into this immenselyenjoyable survey, and with the right comic touch to make you wonder how operaever seemed intimidating." —Thomas May, author of Decoding WagnerDespitethe popular success of the Metropolitan Opera’s “Live in HD” series, opera’s grandworld of soaring sopranos and breathtaking baritones—of tragic Rigoletto, triumphal Sigmund, and desperate Orfeo, of faithful Figaro, heartbroken Pagliacci,and lusty Don Giovanni—remains wrapped in an aura of impenetrable esotericism.Piercing this veil of opera’s perceived inaccessibility, acclaimed classicalmusic critic Robert Levine extends a witty and insightfulinvitation to enjoy opera in Weep, Shudder, Die, offering a newgeneration of aficionados a priceless way to access to music’s greatest achievement.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 21, 2011
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About the author
Robert Levine
13 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 4, 2019
Baisi, nekompetentinga, operą profanuojanti knyga. Toks įspūdis, kad autorius vietoj to, jog padėtų susipažinti skaitytojams su opera, iš jos visaip tyčiojasi. Nors įžangoje jis teigia, kad tai yra vadovas po operos pasaulį, padėsiantis skaitytojams ją suprasti ir pamilti. Vis dėlto tokios frazės, kaip, pavyzdžiui, solistų talentas slypi tame, kad jie geba perrėkti orkestrą ir būtent tuo neįmanoma nesižavėti, - autoriui tikrai garbės nedaro. Didelis akmuo į leidyklos "Tyto alba" daržą: tragiškas vertimas (operų pavadinimai ir personažai turi būti išverčiami tokie, kokie yra, o ne interpretuojami savaip), pilna korektūros klaidų. Didelė antirekomendacija.
February 26, 2012
Loved this book which I have on Kindle. Will definitely be using it all the time.
Read
June 30, 2016A handy guide to some plots, written by a pretentious twit.
March 23, 2022
Nieko per daug gilaus, bet kaip vadovas po Operos pasaulį tikrai gera knyga.
January 13, 2020
Fun, contemporary introduction to fifty of the most popular operas in the standard repertoire.
My favorite quote from the book:
""I mentioned earlier in the book that if, in fact, opera is dying, it has been doing so for four hundred years. The common argument is that people who go to the opera are a bunch of gray heads; the average age is, well, nearly dead. I recall this argument from the 1970s as well, when arts commentators were asking how younger people could be attracted to the opera. Why hasn't it dawned on everyone that (1) each year there's a new batch of gray heads, (2) perhaps opera is something that requires a certain degree of understanding and maturity, and (3) people in their thirties and forties are probably raising children and are either financially strapped or at home with the aforementioned children? The target age for most entertainment nowadays is eighteen to thirty; people of that age group are the ones with time and disposable income; they don't own homes, and they don't have kids. And they're really good at partying and drinking -- why should they sit still for three hours with an art form that is alien to them? Leave them alone -- they'll see an ad at their local movie house for an opera, and somehow the spark will be lit. Or wait until they're gray -- it's only a few years down the line.
Furthermore, an article in Time online in May 2010 mentioned that the median age of operagoers is forty-eight. That isn't exactly geriatric; everyone knows someone who is actually forty-eight and still alert."
... As a someone who just turned forty-eight and didn't discover opera until she was in her forties... this all gave me a good deal of comfort. Perhaps there is time and hope for me yet.
My favorite quote from the book:
""I mentioned earlier in the book that if, in fact, opera is dying, it has been doing so for four hundred years. The common argument is that people who go to the opera are a bunch of gray heads; the average age is, well, nearly dead. I recall this argument from the 1970s as well, when arts commentators were asking how younger people could be attracted to the opera. Why hasn't it dawned on everyone that (1) each year there's a new batch of gray heads, (2) perhaps opera is something that requires a certain degree of understanding and maturity, and (3) people in their thirties and forties are probably raising children and are either financially strapped or at home with the aforementioned children? The target age for most entertainment nowadays is eighteen to thirty; people of that age group are the ones with time and disposable income; they don't own homes, and they don't have kids. And they're really good at partying and drinking -- why should they sit still for three hours with an art form that is alien to them? Leave them alone -- they'll see an ad at their local movie house for an opera, and somehow the spark will be lit. Or wait until they're gray -- it's only a few years down the line.
Furthermore, an article in Time online in May 2010 mentioned that the median age of operagoers is forty-eight. That isn't exactly geriatric; everyone knows someone who is actually forty-eight and still alert."
... As a someone who just turned forty-eight and didn't discover opera until she was in her forties... this all gave me a good deal of comfort. Perhaps there is time and hope for me yet.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews