The History of Opera

Rating:
Summary: A perfect "beginner's guide"
Review: For those of you who take long car rides, I recommend the tape version of this book; for educators the CD format is best for instant access to any composer. As for the material itself, it is a superb "beginner's guide" to the history of opera. Running just short of 320 minutes (each CD is packed up to nearly the 80 minute limit), the not too cultivated British voice of the narrator takes us through the stages of the development of opera with copious illustrations drawn from the mammoth Naxos catalogue. The information is beautifully organized and very very clearly expressed. I transferred my CD copy to tape so I could hear it several times while on the road and let the information sink in. There is a Naxos set along the same lines that traces the history of all Western music; but there I felt that 4 CDs were not enough. Here I congratulate whoever did the abrigement for a fine job.