The History of Classical Music / The History of Opera

by Richard Fawkes

The History of Opera is an affordable and accessible resource for the listening and appraising skills element in any music curriculum. Richard Fawkes traces the history of opera from its origins in the 16th century to the present day in the first three CDs. The excerpts include Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Donizetti, Bellini, Berlioz, Gounod, Offenbach, Saint-Saens, Bizet, Verdi, Mussorgsky, Rubenstein and Tchaikovsky. The fourth CD is devoted to the history of operetta with excerpts from Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Strauss, Lehar and some light American opera. The History of Opera helps students compare distinctive musical characteristics from a variety of styles and traditions. The narrative descriptions assist in relating the excerpts to the context in which the music was created.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Art

Audio CD

First published June 1, 1999

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mile wide and an inch thick, as someone once described my college education. It does cover just about every major (and not so major) composer of opera, from Peri to Philip Glass, though most get exceedingly short shrift. It ends with some notes on production and a few hoary anecdotes that would probably induce eye-rolling if repeated in certain company. Unfortunately, it does not include "The Rabbit of Seville" or "What's Opera, Doc?" but the recording excerpts from other notable works make it worth the time for beginners.

[Vinícius Landvoigt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Works as an introduction to the subject. There's a good point on listening, rather than reading, this kind of book because various snippets of key Operas are included during the book to help understand the different characteristics of each period or composer.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

A light introduction that includes operetta.

[Emanuele Pezzani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced but with lots of facts, I'll definitely listen to it more than once! Thumbs up for Robert Powell's reading, I didn't know he could pronounce foreign names so well :D

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know nothing about opera and this book is perfect for people like me. Brief introduction from beginning to today, short audio passages from operas and presentation of some the best-known composers. Short, informative and interesting.

[Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enthusiastic, occasionally humorous, and enticing. This audiobook made me want to listen to more opera, and left me with the feeling that I know something about opera and its history. Although five hours (the duration of this History) seem long, in fact there's so much ground to cover that most of the time I felt like I was rushing through a period or composer. A few technical terms escaped me, so it might help if you already know something about opera, but in general it's quite accessible.

Minor criticisms:
-A few too many of the audio samples are overtures, which I find strange because there's no singing in them.
-Coverage of English opera, though brief, feels a little forced, almost as if the author felt he had to include England.
-I wish the transcript was available, as I retain more if I can read the text.

[McHess]

I'm reasonably new to opera. Live I've seen one Donizetti, a few oratorios, and a Gilbert and Sullivan (naturally). I do adore opera's musical theater offspring.
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"Opera, the most irrational of the arts, in which people sing all the time, usually in a language no one in the audience can understand and often can't hear anyway, in which the heroine invariably takes half an hour to die while the tenor shows off. And yet, when it works, the combination of music, the human voice, the drama, the costumes, the lighting, and the staging have the power to touch the human soul and work a magic upon the emotions in a way no other art form can. That is opera."
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This was a very fast-paced run-down of names, dates, and influences, largely bouncing around Europe. I found it somewhat helpful to get this large sweep of the development of opera, but in other ways, this wasn't the history I was hoping for. Perhaps I just needed something longer for that. I had hoped for a more secure guide to the changes in the form, how aria and recitative worked, etc. Some of that was brushed on here, but it was the lightest of brushes.

Because it was such a flyby, because we only spent a few moments with each composer--or, rarely, performer--I retained very few specifics from this history. There just wasn't enough for me, a newbie, to connect these details to my limited schema.

The inserts of actual clips of specific pieces was a perfect touch, though I also wanted more of these. Why were these selections chosen? What should I be listening for that is typical or unique in the work? If it's, as typical, not in English, what are the lyrics?

This was enough to get me some orientation to this enormous and mostly foreign art form, but only that. I'll seek out a deeper or more guiding history suitable for me at a later date.

[Asya Olshanskaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Замечательный справочник для тех, кто только подбирается к опере (как я). Как пишут многие в рецензиях ниже, постарайтесь найти аудиокнигу — тогда получится насладиться очень удачно и к месту подобранными примерами (кусочками арий, увертюр и пр.). Книга не перегружает датами (моему захламлённому мемами мозгу бесполезно слушать, когда кто родился и сколько прожил), но позволяет выстроить какую-то базовую хронологию, понять основные этапы развития оперы как направления — а по пути набраться анекдотов (в их изначальном значении «неопубликованных историй») об отскакивающих от матрасов Тосках и Генделе, радикально подходящем к концепции «подышать свежим воздухом».
Отдельно хочется отметить заинтересованность автора и его стремление к объективности, в частности — в вопросе о том, отделима ли личность автора от самого произведения.

[Mary Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect use of audiobook format - you get recording snippets, especially some key historical recordings. You will notice that the singers are identified only in what must be public domain recordings in the 1920s and earlier. This is fairly straightforward, with chronological development, primarily. There is some movement to look at development in countries (Italy, France, and Germany being the primary ones.) The main distinction is a little frippery of opera anecdotes and then the history of operetta at the end. The weakest part is trying to say certain recent operas will have staying power... come on, you don't know that. Wait 100 years.

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty great for an introduction to opera. A very quick overview with great examples. I’m pretty familiar with the styles and composers, but I was missing a bit on how they linked together through history. It’s not meant to be a graduate voice and opera studies course, and the length alone should clue anyone with common sense into just how thorough the text will likely be. You could fill an entire encyclopedia with Rossini’s influence alone.

[Joe Zralka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the most authoritative reference on opera ever produced. It contains a lot of samples of pieces from operas through the years. It covers extensively from the early days of opera during the time of the Medicis to modern opera, the start of operettas of Offenbach. Everyone who is a "green apple" to the world of opera should listen to this.

[Fillipe Ferrari · Rating 4 out of 5]

gostei muito, me ensinou a gostar do gênero

[Helen McClory]

an aural delight, though more of a sweep than a deep dig

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A huge enjoyment to listen to.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and easy to understand introduction to the history of this interesting genre. Enormously helpful. The audiobook includes many brief excerpts of famous arias and overtures. Recommend.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Georgie Melrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does what it sets out to do, but lacks some of the context I was hoping for and assumes certain things that I don't think it should.

[Jw Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four discs cover nearly four centuries of opera, from Monteverdi to Stockhausen, with ample musical selections sprinkled in. These musical interludes are quite short, of course, but quite adequate to their purpose. Fawkes takes for granted a certain basic understanding of musical themes and movements, but even a musical novice will find much to enjoy here.

[Joe Marley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of opera. Unlike some textbooks, which shall remain nameless, Fawkes actually has interesting stories and talks about the significant accomplishments of minor composers, not just the big fancy composers.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to opera with some good anecdotes. I enjoyed how they had excerpts to explain what they were talking about. Made me anxious to keep learning more about opera...

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

All of the musical interludes were enlightening.

And hearing a Castrato sing was kinda creepy.

[Mark Wilder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice introduction with a good number of audio tracks to show stylistic differences as opera evolved.