OPERA SINGERS PLUS

As for singing, an opera singer is typically required to practice for several hours each day. Because many of the classical operas were written in foreign languages, particularly Italian, an opera singer should also be fluent in a number of different languages. However, there is much more involved in an opera-singing career than merely vocalizing.ДЄn opera singer will typically need to memorize a variety of different musical numbers. One could say simply that an opera singer, well, sings. Although operas are commonly thought of as entertainment for the wealthy and well-to-do, the stunning vocals and moving story lines of these types of performances are enough to move and delight any theatergoer. Today, opera houses and theaters grace nearly every major city on earth.

So-called commoners werenвЂ™t to get a taste of operatic performances until 1637, when the first public opera house вЂ“ Teatro San Cassiano вЂ“ was erected in Venice.

These original operas were typically only meant for audiences of aristocrats and wealthy families. However, PeriвЂ™s second opera, Euridice, was written a mere three years later, and it still survives to this day. Unfortunately, this opera вЂ“ entitled DafneВ вЂ“ has since been lost. In 1597, what is believed to be the first modern opera was written by Italian composer, Jacopo Peri. The beginning of modern opera dates back to the Renaissance, when a group of aristocrats and artists in Florence вЂ“ known as the Florentine Camerata вЂ“ made an attempt to revive ancient Greek theater. Operas are also more dramatic, or serious, than musicals, and they are also usually more poetic. Unlike musicals, however, operas typically contain no spoken dialogue, but rely solely on musicВ to tell a story. Most operas attempt to tell a moving and dramatic story through instrumental music and vocalizations. It is an essential volume for opera lovers everywhere.An opera is a type of dramatic work or theatrical presentation which is set to music.

The articles are mostly drawn from the acclaimed Grove Music Online and have been fully revised, and the book is further supplemented by more than 40 specially commissioned articles on contemporary singers.ДЄ superb new guide from the first name in opera reference, The Grove Book of Opera Singers is a lively and authoritative work. Many entries also include suggestions for further reading, so that anyone interested in a particular performer can explore their life and career in more depth.

OPERA SINGERS PLUS

But these articles often go well beyond basic biographical information to offer colourful portraits of the singer's personality and vocal style, plus astute evaluations of their place in operatic history and many other intriguing observations. The profiles offer basic information such as birth date, vocal style, first debut, most memorable roles, and much more. Readers will find fascinating articles on such opera stars as Maria Callas and Enrico Caruso, Ezio Pinza and Fyodor Chaliapin, Lotte Lehmann and Jenny Lind, Lily Pons and Luciano Pavarotti. The most comprehensive guide to opera singers ever produced, this volume offers an alphabetically arranged collection of authoritative biographies that range from Marion Anderson (the first African American to perform at the Met) to Benedict Zak (the classical tenor and close friend and colleague of Mozart). Covering over 1500 singers from the birth of opera to the present day, this marvellous volume will be an essential resource for all serious opera lovers and an indispensable companion to the enormously successful Grove Book of Operas (also in Oxford Reference Online: Premium Collection).

Opera singers