Hist of the Musical 4D

by Richard Fawkes

A major production for Naxos Audiobooks and a unique Audiobook, this bold and entertaining undertaking traces the musical from its origins in classical music (Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, Offenbach’s operettas and Gilbert and Sullivan) through to its flowering in America; Showboat, Anything Goes, High Society, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Oliver, Cabaret, A Little Night Music, The Rocky Horror Show, The Phantom of the Opera – the list is endless. So are the stars who made the musicals live the composers, Kern, Porter, Gershwin, Bernstein, Lloyd Webber; the famous partnerships such as Rogers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe; the performers Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Howard Keel, Julie Andrews... and the tempestuous creative background to the productions themselves. With over 120 musical examples illustrating this remarkable story, the history of the musical in all its glory comes alive.

Features over 100 musical examples

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Musicals, Music, Historical

Audio CD

First published July 30, 2001

Reviews

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I need to confess that I am a musicals fan.

This audiobook really brought to life and really showed the listener/reader that progress that by musicals as they moved from opera; to operettas; vaudeville and finally modern musicals we today.

It was very educational. I really enjoyed it on audiobook and I can’t imagine reading without the sound.

Good job all the way around

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really not sure what to rate this audiobook. Let's go with 3 stars for a "liked it" designation. For the most part, I remained pretty interested, because I am a big lover of musical theatre. However, there really was no new information here. The multitude of clips from musicals is definitely what made this recording. Although I think I heard a mistake in the attribution of the "Singin' in the Rain" clip to Gene Kelly: Perhaps the song had to be altered in some way in order to be used in this audiobook or something, but in the clip used, it did not sound at all sound like Gene Kelly or his version of the tune to my ears. Oh well! Other than that, and an oddly disparaging comment about The Sound of Music, this was a nice listen, especially for fans of musicals like myself.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The History of the Musical" is a really nice listen but the actual book part of this audiobook left something to be desired. Overall, this audiobook was a nice 3 star read, recommended for a musical fan - as long as you're aware that there aren't any current musicals covered!

My full review: https://whatrebeccasread.wordpress.co...

[Joe Zralka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful audiobook higlighting the best of musicals from Offenbach's operettas to Boublie and Schonberg's Les Miserables. A must listen for Broadway enthusiasts!

[Megan]

This was an audio book only. It was very interesting, it played the music, it told how different historic events affected the operas & plays.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. As an avid musical theatre fan, I especially enjoyed the musical clips included in the audiobook. I did feel that the author could have elaborated more on the more modern musical theater. Shows like Rent were completely left out, and he only mentioned the movie musical in relation to classics like Singing in the Rain. I also felt that some odd musical selections were made. Instead of playing the standard song of some classic shows (why not play Wilkommen, from Cabaret, or Comedy Tonight, from A Funny Thing?) the author often opted for either ballads or more obscure numbers.

However, all in all I think that this book should basically satisfy any musical theater fan. The references to famous shows and writing teams are fun, as are the clips of earlier musicals which might be unknown to the reader.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An example of what an audio book can do really well. This edition includes hundreds of music clips to underscore Fawkes' points as you travel through musical hall, light opera, musical theatre and broadway spectacular. Like fine radio, this is an ideal choice for long listening stretches. I would like to say it never gets tiresome, but the quality of the narration recording is surprisingly weak. It has a tinny echo, like listening to someone read over a conference call. This keeps it from being a first-rate example of what an audio production can bring to a book, esp. of non-fiction. Blame the producers, and check out other volumes of Fawkes' musical histories.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could be a nice companion piece to a music appreciation class, and I did enjoy the musical snippets included in the work, but I am not so sure I know much more about the history of the musical now than I did before. The author's comment about some actors being able to sing if the part they played called for it, and others not, was cute.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little overview of musical theatre. Not too indepth. Full of chatty tidbits about certain authors and writing teams.
The best part is lots and lots of musical examples. Many of them are old old recordings so the sound quality isn't the best, but you get the idea.

[Michael Tarpinian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history with clips of many old musicals. It ended with Les Mis so it had nothing in it on any new stuff.

Listened to the Overdrive recording on my iPhone.

[Tara Nichol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for history of the musical and its origins. Recommend to get the audiobook for the music.