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Eyewitness Companions: Opera

Alan Riding - Author

£16.99

Everything you need to know about opera – for the seasoned opera-goer and those new to the genre but wanting to learn more...

Introduction

From Baroque to Italian, from Vivaldi to Debussy, explore 400 years of music drama from late-Renaissance Italy to works from contemporary names including Philip Glass and Thomas Adès.

Discover hundreds of classic and modern opera interpretations, learn about the lives of operatic masters, from Monteverdi to Adams plus, read act-by-act synopses of more than 160 operas from Madama Butterfly and Tosca to Candide and The Maid of Pskov signposting the highlights of each opera and helping you follow the story-line and identify characters.

Eyewitness Companions Opera – music for your ears and eyes.

Reviews

"Packed into every page of this book is the excitement of discovery, knowledge, taste and visual beauty. In some way, it all gives the reader the illusion of being at an actual performance." Plácido Domingo

"Richly illustrated and beautifully written, this book captures the art, lyricism, passion and excitement of opera through the ages. It is an ideal companion for opera newcomers and devotees alike." Daniel Barenboim

"Opera is a beautiful guide for opera enthusiasts as well as the perfect welcome for converts to this ancient rite. It offers today's and tomorrow's audiences a delightful "navigation system" along an avenue that leads from Monteverdi to Bob Wilson."
Stéphane Lissner, Director of the Teatro alla Scala

"This guide is essential for serious opera buffs and newcomers alike. From basic explanations of the history of opera to details of classic scores - all told in a witty, conversational tone and accompanied by hundreds of full-color photos - Alan Riding and Leslie Dunton-Downer prove themselves, in this engaging account, to be eyewitness companions with clear vision."
Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera

"I am delighted to recommend this book to anyone who is, or thinks they may be, interested in opera. It is wonderfully illustrated and contains just the right amount of information on each composer and an insight into their operas. It’s the kind of book to place on your coffee table to enjoy when you have a quiet moment. My guess is that your coffee consumption will increase!" Bryn Terfel

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Interview

From their favourite opera singers to the practicalities of being a fan, authors of the Eyewitness Companion to Opera, Alan Riding and Leslie Dunton-Downer, share their wisdom on the operatic world.

Some people think of opera as intimidating and elitist. Do you sympathise with this view?

Alan Riding – I certainly do, which is one reason why we wanted to write this book – to show that this “intimidating and elitist” world can in fact be friendly and accessible. True, opera began in royal courts and even now some opera festivals may seem a bit exclusive. Yet, with its unique combination of music, drama and spectacle, opera has always been a popular form of entertainment. Today, through big-screen performances, touring companies and major opera houses, it is within easy reach.

Opera is famous for its fanatical audiences. Why such passion?

Leslie Dunton-Downer – Some fans are electrified by opera’s intense life-and-death stories set to soul-stirring music. Others are bewitched by opera’s spectacular costumes, lights and stage effects. But what really sets an opera audience alight are exceptional singers. They have the power to transport listeners into another world. And, be warned, the experience can be addictive. Fans cross oceans to hear their favourite tenor or soprano.

So who is your favourite opera singer?

Leslie Dunton-Downer – I have a weakness for singers with the kind of penetrating, resonant voice that can make your bones vibrate. And, fortunately, they keep coming along. Most recently, I was enchanted by the rising Austrian tenor Nicolai Schukoff. He has that very rare combination: an immense voice that is also subtle and sensitive, real acting talent, plus a remarkable stage presence.

Alan Riding – It may seem obvious, but I’d pick Maria Callas, the 20th-century’s greatest diva. In truth, there have been more beautful voices, but none more operatic. Even recordings capture the charisma and animal energy of her performances. To hear Callas singing the title-roles in Bellini’s Norma or Puccini’s Tosca remains is spine-tingling.

What is your favourite opera?

Alan Riding — I love Mozart’s operas. Janáèek’s also increasingly interest me. But as a long-time Verdi fan, I would have to say that Don Carlo and Il Trovatore are my enduring favourites.

Leslie Dunton-Downer – Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. I cannot hear enough of it, especially in the recording conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler. But I also listen time and again to operas by Monteverdi, Gluck, Richard Strauss, and Alban Berg.

Do opera-goers need a background in classical music in order to discover the pleasures that operas afford?

Leslie Dunton-Downer – No. This is like asking whether you need a degree in filmmaking in order to enjoy watching movies. Operas are usually about big emotions, or big ideas, or big epiphanies. Even chamber operas or operas of modest resources typically take audiences on emotional journeys. So, if you love expressive music and intense melodrama, you’re ready for opera.

Many people enjoy the most famous operas by renowned composers like Mozart, Verdi, Bizet, and Puccini, but why should anyone bother with less renowned operas?

Alan Riding – What’s interesting is that these very same composers also wrote less well known operas – and some of these, like Mozart’s Idomeneo and Verdi’s La forza del destino, are well worth visiting. But the opera canon is also full of surprises. Some long-forgotten operas were immense hits in their day – and often for good reason. And today, many fine operas fall outside the mainstream: no one, for instance, should overlook Mussorgsky’s Kovanshchina or Janáèek’s Jenùfa, one Russian, the other Czech. Through them, it is also possible to appreciate opera’s international reach. It offers an extraordinary journey through time and space, from the early 1600s to today, from Monteverdi’s Venice to George Gershwin’s New York.

How would you begin to explore opera if you live far from any opera house?

Alan Riding – Most public libraries have CD and DVD recordings of the major operas. And to start, it might be worth taking one great work from each of opera’s four centuries. Or, alternatively, one from each of the great national opera traditions: Italian, Germanic, French, Russian, and Czech. When discovering an opera, I find it helpful to follow the libretto. Most CDs include the text in several languages.

Leslie Dunton-Downer – A live performance of opera is best of all. And it may be possible to catch a famous opera performed by talented amateurs on a school campus or in a civic center. Sometimes professional opera companies tour regions where opera is scarce. Otherwise, it may mean waiting for a trip to a major city or to a town with a summer opera festival.

Opera seems cut off from everyday life. Do you think of it as an escape from reality?

Leslie Dunton-Downer – I find real life more “operatic” even than opera: amazing political power struggles, broken hearts galore, absurdly humorous situations. I think of opera as giving shape to the chaos of our most human experiences. It extracts the drama from everyday life and returns it to us in musical form.

Alan Riding – To enter an opera house is to enter an unreal world. After all, life’s humour and tragedy are not normally accompanied by song.. So, yes, I find the suspension of disbelief very appealing. Yet when opera moves me to tears, it is also very real.

How would your book ideally be used by someone about to attend an opera for the first time?

Alan Riding – We have designed the book as a journey through the world of opera. So anyone entering it for the first time should find the opening essays useful. They provide an overview of opera through the ages, but also explore such key topics as the role of the librettist, the history of opera houses, diva-worship and the staging necessary to complete the spectacle. The rest of the book focuses on leading composers and their best known operas and is organized into three broadly chronological sections: opera’s first two centuries, climaxing with Mozart; the 19th century and its many national schools of opera; and modern and contemporary opera. Naturally, the space devoted to any composer reflects his output and importance.

Leslie Dunton-Downer – Let’s imagine a reader is to attend La Traviata for the first time. A perusal of Verdi’s biography and the accompanying time-line will help place La Traviata in the composer’s canon. Two pages devoted to this opera then give background to the work’s composition and importance; its principal roles; and an act-by-act synopsis of the action, with icons highlighting famous arias, duets and ensembles. And throughout the book, lively illustrations offer a taste of the excitement, which opera and its performers can generate. In all, we aim to give readers the tools they need to enjoy opera to the full.

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