Great Operas: A Guide to Twenty-Five of the World's Finest Musical Experiences

by Michael Steen

From Great Composers author Michael Steen, a unique multi-platform project offering a royal box view into one of mankind’s greatest art forms. From the soaring heights of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle to the tear-jerking emotion of Mozart’s breathtakingly beautiful Don Giovanni, opera is one of the most powerful artistic forms mankind has ever created. It should also be the most enjoyable! Michael Steen’s The Lives and Times of the Great Composers was described as ‘hugely informative and deliciously gossipy’ by the Spectator. Great Operas is his accessible and entertaining user’s manual to making the best of an opera – whether at home or at a live performance, interspersing the key facts with erudite commentary from a man for whom opera is a lifetime’s passion.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

488 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for any opera fan's collection. It includes composer backgrounds, act-by-act summaries, and key musical talking points for 25 of the most well-regarded European operas in history. "Great Operas" offers insight into the masterpieces of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Wagner, Verdi, and more! I find this book a great source to turn to pre-viewing of the operas that it covers as I feel it really adds to my appreciation and enjoyment of them. No one chapter is excessively long--Steen spends about 20 pages per opera, give or take, making it very manageable and accessible. One does not by any means need to be an opera connoisseur to read this book. As a matter of fact, I think it would even serve as a great introduction into the world of opera.

[R C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive research that dives deeply into twenty five of the world's most famous operas. The concise and clear formating makes it easy for a layman to learn about interesting tidbits about these operas.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I feel this way because "Great Operas" is the fourth book I've read about the opera Carmen, but I found it to be rather vapid and dry. Hopefully the chapters that cover the other operas will be more interesting.