Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera

by Placido Domingo, Fred Plotkin, Plácido Domingo

Book Overview

Opera is the fastest growing of all the performing arts, attracting audiences of all ages who are enthralled by the gorgeous music, vivid drama, and magnificent production values. If you've decided that the time has finally come to learn about opera and discover for yourself what it is about opera that sends your normally reserved friends into states of ecstatic abandon, this is the book for you.Opera 101 is recognized as the standard text...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786880252
• ISBN13: 9780786880256
• Release Date: December 1994
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A New Classical Music Convert

At its core this book teaches you how to listen to classical music. The general format of the book is giving some theory and history, and then has you listen to a piece of music. The author then explains the music and also tells you what to listen for. For example the book starts off by developing your listening skills. You’ll learn about various instruments in the orchestra and then listen to a few recordings. Then the author teaches you how to interpret the music, and how to form your own ideas about it. Once the foundation is laid, you’ll learn how to listen to symphonies by various composers. After that you’ll focus on music for a specific instrument - piano, strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. The last section of the book is about how to listen to vocal music and how to feel music. One thing to beware of is that you will need access to the music to get the full benefit of the book. I personally used the online music service Rhapsody which had most pieces of music. Another thing is this book is not a quick read, so be prepared to spend a lot of time listening to music. If you a beginner to classical music I highly recommend this book. My perception of classical music has been forever changed.

Brainy, detailed, thorough...

"Classical Music 101" is a great book, but there are a few caveats, which I will get to at the end of my review.First off, this book examines--culturally and commercially--the place that classical music holds in today's world. Next, it breaks down classical music into its constitutive elements: how individual instruments produce sound; how the individual sounds of instruments come together in various orchestral formats; what role the conductor plays; and how the elusive art of active listening can be perfected. There is specific scrutiny of several representative musical works, a discography of recommended recordings, and an appendix listing concert venues all over the world.The best aspect of the work is how it attacks, frequently and energetically, the question of why classical music matters. Plotkin has some great answers, and they are heartfelt rather than pat. The whole work is suffused with Plotkin's great knowledge and attention to detail. There are all manner of fascinating "insider" details--such as why the number of classical recordings continues to wither while record-company profits go up--that are the icing on this detail-rich cake.There are some warnings, however. First, the typeface is troublingly small. People who have a hard time reading fine print should avoid this book. Second, this is a book is NOT a quick, breezy read (think "Classical Music for Dummies"), so if you don't want to work a little, skip it. Plotkin asks you to think and reflect, which is great--but there are less challenging classical-music guides on the market. In the end, I believe the attentive reader of this book will be richly rewarded. Ploktin might easily make you into a lifelong classical music fan.

Classical Music 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and ...

As in his "Opera 101", Plotkin gives us a book that is helpfulto the expert as well as the novice. And as in "Opera 101", "Classical Music 101" would be a good textbook for high schoolor University classes. Mr. Plotkin is at once studious andentertaining in his prose and one gets the impression that he isnot a classical music snob. It seems very important to him toshare his love of this music with others who may not have hadthe chance to know it. This book has great depth as well asbreadth. For the person who wants to "get to know" classicalmusic better, or at all, Mr. Plotkin leads the reader on a gentleand illuminating tour.

Great way to learn opera!

This book is in effect a great "do it yourself" course on opera.The first chapter is a history of opera. The second discusses the mechanics of opera - the various types of singers and concepts involved in opera. Next is a chapter on the mechanics of attending an opera, buying tickets, what to beware, etc.The real heart of the book, though, is the eleven chapters covering eleven different operas. As you progress through them, you learn about new concepts such as the use of music to evoke emotion, french opera, grand opera, etc. By carefully choosing the sequence, Plotkin is careful to reveal opera's mystery in a way that will bring listeners in rather than turning them off. Plotkin also suggests a particular recording for each opera as a way of introducing different singers and conductors as well. In contrast to others, Plotkin uses the entire opera - not merely highlights.As a companion, I'd suggest Denis Foreman's A Night at the Opera, which is a highly informative, although highly opinionated, reference guide to all the major operas.

Great Value

If you want to develop an interest or feed your growing interest in Opera, this is a terrific book. Plotkin believes that the more you know before you go to the theatre, the more you will get out of your experiences of live opera. I had never attended an opera without supertitles before reading this book, but feel comfortable doing so now. Good information on popular operas and obscure operas, retired singers and current singers, what to look for and what to listen for. Doesn't talk down to the reader. Published in 1994 so some resources (phone numbers of opera companies) out of date.