Karl Kohrs

Fifteen years after the 2d edition of Complete Stories of the Great Operas was published with the stories of 76 classic operas, in 1971, Maestro Cross offered this recitative' of 45 more. The publications bookend the period -- the "Sixties" -- in which opera experienced the most profound changes in its four hundred year history. The stories remain indelible, the music moving -- albeit reflecting the restless tempers of the times.
What is this, then? What is the appeal of music, and of music delivered by human voice? How we remain lured to the stage by "special effects"! By craft, and of course, by the story itself! In opera, as a consummation of all conceivable arts, we have an enduring source of inspiration and pleasure which this author, this maestro, manages to capture and in turning page, to thrill us.
In addition to the opera stories, the two volumes each contain: Biographies of leading singers (past and present); a Survey of activity; a Glossary of terms; a Bibliography; and a list of Opera Organizations.
You want this book for the "opera stories" -- these are not merely plot synopses that leave you clueless about the richness and inspirational value of the experience. For example, that Italians think Nabucco is about them (and it is). Or that when Lavinia (aka, in the opera by Marvin Levy of Eugene O'Neill' play, Mourning Becomes "Electra") poignantly rues a regret "she cannot pity what she does not understand", the feeling is underscored with a variation of the double minor-third in her duet with her mother, Christine aka Clytemnestra. [274]… (más)