| Description |
1 online resource (x, 366 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations |
| Contents |
1 From the Origins to Lully -- 2 From Lully to Rameau -- 3 The Age of Rameau -- 4 Gluck to Revolution -- 5 Revolution to Romanticism -- 6 The Age of Grand Opera -- 7 French Opera under the Second Empire -- 8 From Carmen to Pelleas -- 9 From the Belle Epoque to the Annees Folles -- 10 Crisis and Renewal |
| Summary |
""Eminently readable ... readers will delight in new or forgotten names and will eagerly seek out renewed performances, for Giroud shows a rare ability to conjure up the particular musical qualities and eccentricities of composers over a wide range of talent."--Margaret M. McGowan FBA, University of Sussex" ""Vincent Giroud's French Opera is a feast for anyone who cares about opera or French music in general. From Lully to Poulenc and beyond, via Rameau, Bizet, Gounod, Massenet and Debussy, with excursions to Belle Époque operetta, French verismo and contemporary avant-garde composers like Saariaho, Giroud illuminates the story of the most continuously vital operatic tradition in the world. Immediately indispensable."-John Ashbery" ""A brilliant overview of the history of French opera, scrupulously researched and eminently readable. The people, the politics, the scandals - informative and entertaining."-Richard Bonynge AO, CBE" ""A long overdue, fantastically useful, and authoritative account of a neglected area. Vincent Giroud has done for English-speaking readers something that has long been needed. Let us hope his book brings the riches of the French operatic tradition more to the fore so that many more great examples of French opera can reach the stage and become part of the active repertory. Giroud's elegant command of the subject is a delight."-Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, Music Director of the American Symphony Orchestra" "French opera is second only to Italian opera in the length, breadth and diversity of its history. Yet most people if asked to come up with titles, could mention only a handful - Carmen, Faust, Pelleas et Melisande, Samson et Dalila - a small list for an operatic tradition that began in the seventeenth century and is still very much alive. This book provides a full, single-volume account of opera in France from its origins to the present day." |
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"Vincent Giroud looks at the leading composers, from Lully to Messiaen and beyond; at the development of French operatic form and style; at performance, performers and audience; and at the impact of French opera beyond France's borders. Lovers of opera will find this an ideal companion to their appreciation of the form."--Jacket |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 340-346) and index |
| Notes |
In English |
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Print version record |
| Subject |
Opera -- France.
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MUSIC -- Genres & Styles -- Opera.
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Opera.
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Oper
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France.
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Frankreich
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
0300168217 |
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9780300168211 |
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