The Metropolitan Opera Guide

by Mary Ellis Peltz, Robert Lawrence, Alexandre Serebriakoff (Illustrations)

Opera enthusiasts will find this book a treasure-trove of information on their favorite art and on the institution within which almost all operatic history in America has been made. It contains the stories of all the operas in the Metropolitan's standard repertory, given in act-by-act and scene-by-scene detail. A biographical sketch of each composer, with an evaluation of his work in its time, is another of the book's many features. The motives and musical themes of the principal arias, as well as marginal commentaries on the various roles, are given, and the entire text is embellished with many decorative illustrations. Introductory contributions are written by Edward Johnson, former General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera House, and Mrs. August Belmont, Founder and President Emeritus of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Thus The Metropolitan Opera Guide is the most authoritative and definitive book in the field of American music-drama. Its publication as the forty-eighth title in the Modern Library Giant series adds confirmation to the statement made by the New York Times that this is "the greatest book bargain in all the world today."

Genres: Music

497 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1939

Reviews

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet book of its time, with an overview of the history of opera and synopses, with musical excerpts, of most of the major operas being staged between the wars. The introduction gives this book a welcoming tone, designed to provide guidance to listeners across the USA to those famous Saturday Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, in an era before television and in-theatre surtitles.

[James Violand · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written synopsis with brief score examples of the more famous operas by their composers.