Customer Reviews (1)

The best resource for Puccini's operas
William Ashbrook's "The Operas of Puccini" is an accurate, gracefully written, and thoroughly interesting account of its subject.For each opera, Ashbrook methodically examines literary sources, discusses relevant biographical evidence, and analyzes musical "fingerprints" of Puccini's style.Ashbrook clearly loves his subject (which cannot be said for Charles Osborne, whose similar but extremely sour account cannot hold a candle to Ashbrook's).I frequently return to Ashbrook's text to check some detail or merely to reacquaint myself with an opera I haven't seen recently, and I always come away from the book with renewed respect for its author and subject.In the tradition of Ashbrook's magisterial account of the life of Donizetti, "The Operas of Puccini" is a cornerstone text for opera fans. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: New York : G. RicordiPublication date: 1918Subjects: OperasNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
Giacomo Puccini, composer of some of the world's most popular operas, including La Boheme, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, was also a highly literary person who based his librettos on existing works of literature. This work explores that literary inheritance in an effort to enhance the listener's appreciation of the operatic experience. The author argues that the majority of Puccini's operas compose a grand cycle that finds its roots in the romance genre of 12th century France, serving to celebrate the strong, independent heroine. Via a close examination of the source works, the librettos, and the scores, this book offers fresh perspective on Puccini's legacy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Best book on opera I've ever read
This is the most amazing book on opera that I've ever read. Ms. Arnesen's knowledge of the literary background of Puccini's operas is stunning, and she writes so well that I just couldn't put the book down. Her analysis of the music is really insightful. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in opera in general or Puccini in particular.

The Best Of The Best !!!
This is truly an amazing book. I was the first person "on my block" to obtain a copy, and I could not put it down. I read it from cover to cover. The author has not only a great knowledge of opera in general and Puccini specifically, but most obviously has a great love for this composer. It has opened my eyes to dozens ofnew facts and insights. For example, the true interpretation of Tosca - - - an amazing "eye-opener".This book is a must for all opera aficionados.

... Read more

Product Description
A complete guide to Puccini's TURANDOT which includes the STORY SYNOPSIS, PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS in the opera, STORY NARRATIVE with ONE-BAR MUSIC HIGHLIGHT EXAMPLES, and an ESSAY providing background about the opera and its composer, analysis, and insightful commentary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Burton Fisher Does Not Know What He's Talking About
At least not when it comes to Turandot.

This is a review of anything Burton Fisher is offering with regards to Turandot (libretto, analysis, review...etc). Save your money. Two reasons.

1) - Burton Fisher's libretto is a poor translation with obvious mistakes. For example, in Act III, Scene II, he translates "primo pianto" as "first kiss." It's actually "first tear," and to make matters worst in the VERY NEXT LINE Fisher translates it as "first tear." This is sloppiness beyond compare and certainly not worth your money (the libretto alone costs $9 in downloadable pdf format from his website!). There are other errors and questionable word choices (it's like he went out of his way to make the most awkward translation possible), but take my word that you're better off looking elsewhere. You can find an English translation for cheap from the Ricordi Collection (I found on for under $2 on eBay).

2) - Fisher's analysis of Turandot is completely wrong. He submits to the idiotic "this opera is just a manifestation of Puccini's 'mother complex.'" Besides the obvious difficulties in trying to psychoanalyze a person who's been dead for almost a hundred years and whom you've never met, the theory flies in the face of what's actually in the opera. He dares to write that Liu is "punished" by Puccini because she yearns for base love when there is clearly no better example in all of opera of a more transcendent love. You can check Julian Budden's "Puccini: His Life and Works" for a thorough rebuttal to this foolish line of reasoning. Despite having many women die in his operas, no one seems to accuse Verdi of a "mother complex."

So all this to say I don't recommend anything by Burton Fisher when it comes to Turandot - and if this is any indication I would be wary of just about anything Burton Fisher offers. This Turandot libretto/book/analysis is of tremendously poor quality and confusing if not harmful analysis.

I'm afraid I've yet to run across any trustworthy opera analysis series.The Black Dog Opera series seems to offer decent librettos (in nice hardcover) for very reasonable prices - and from my limited exposure the librettos are actually translated correctly, which is a nice feature.You can find free synopsis of any opera online.

Mini-sized guide laden with maxi-helpful information
The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is just wonderful; it's like a "CliffNote" of the opera, and extremely informative and educational.Iparticularly like the size; these guides are not cumbersome and fit rightinto my shirt pocket. The ladies will find sufficient room in theirpocketbooks.

The story narrative with the music examples is excellent. Iprefer it to a libretto; indeed, it's a much easier way to follow theessence of the story. The essay is magnificent; very well written, notpedantic, and extremely insightful and comprehensible. I congratulateBurton Fisher for a job very well done and Amazon for making these handy,information-laden booklets available. The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Seriesis a wonderful contribution to opera education and opera appreciation.

Mytip: acquire the entire collection because you will be in easy reach ofsuperbly presented opera guides consisting of story analysis, principalcharacters in the opera, story narrative with music highlights, background,analysis, and commentary.

Heinz Dinter, Ph.D. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

worth buying
This is an excellent translation of the libretto of a deservedly popular opera.Unlike many translations, this one is not at all stiff and formal; on the contrary, it flows, much like the opera itself.The Dover editionis a particulary nice size and weight, making it convenient to carry to theopera or to read while listening to a recording of it. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the greatest favorites of the Italian operatic repertoire, whose productions at London’s Covent Garden in 1905 (featuring Enrico Caruso, among other luminaries of the day) and New York’s Metropolitan Opera the following year first brought it fame. Reprinted complete and unabridged from the authoritative G. Ricordi edition.
Amazon.com Review
Is there a more universally beloved opera than MadamaButterfly? Well, maybe the same composer's La Boheme-- but it'spretty close. The ageless, tragic story of the geisha who is sodetermined to be a "real American wife" that she abandons her ownculture (and is abandoned by her family) and the loutish sailor whouses and drops her, has resurfaced in our day as Miss Saigon, but theoriginal is by far superior in every respect. Puccini was a fineorchestrator, and here you can see how he achieved the upliftingeffect of "Un bel di vedremo," Butterfly's song of hope and love. Butremember that you'll need your own English translation; Dover scoresare in the original language. ... Read more

Product Description
After a brief biography of each of the subjects, the author comments on the operatic works of each. ... Read more

Product Description
We're proud to present new sheets featuring this beautiful Puccini piece. Includes a plot synopsis of the opera Turandot. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Sheet music for Turandot "Nessun Dorma"
This is a wonderful rendition of the piece. Easy to play for any level of experience on the piano. I'm personally not a huge fan of opera, but I simply love this piece of music and was extremely happy to have found a simple to understand version without a lot of orchestral notes in the arrangement. Beautifully elegant in its simplicity. ... Read more

Product Description
Derived from the "New Grove Dictionary of Opera", this work brings together the stories of the lives and careers of Puccini, Alfano, Catalani, Cilea, Franchetti, Giordano, Leoncavallo, Mascagni and Zandonai, and synopses and authoritative appreciations of all their major operas. Also covered are the principal librettists and singers of the time. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Italian-English texts ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more