# Opera history+theory+analysis books



## tzwola

Hi, everyone! 

Nice to be here. This forum gathers such an active and professional community. I'm really happy to be part of it <3


So here's my thread:

Are there any good books describing history, meaning and changes of the opera genre? 
What I'm looking for is something like this:



Typical bel canto aria consists of 2 main parts, but in 5-section:

- Tempo d'attacco - intro
- Cantabile - 1st part, slow
- Tempo di mezzo - bridge 
- Cabaletta - 2nd part, fast (with repetitions and ornaments)
- Stretta - signature ending 

...and some explanation, examples, analysis. In the best case it would be also describe why it has this particular form, what are the origins and connotations. For example: Tempo d'attacco - in general is an instrumental introduction exposing a musical idea which is later taken by a singer in the Cantabile - the first main part of an aria, in a slow or moderate tempo, often with a repetitive accompaniment. It has a lyrical character and might express sadness, love or longing. It is a good chance to show long phrasing, legato articulation and perfectly equal registers. (sorry that I worded it so poorly)


This is the kind of knowledge I'm looking for. Could anyone recommend me some books?

English is preferred, French and Italian are OK and German is like "if there's something AMAZING, I'll do my best". 


Thanks for your time <3
Tomek


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## amfortas

Sounds like you know a fair amount already. Maybe write that book yourself?


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## Rogerx

I see you certainly have some background already, I will go trough my library and see what I can find helping you. 
Browsing trough the book section and the opera section on this site can also provide more information. 


Welcome by the way.


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## tzwola

Maybe some day, but I'd love to! Right now I'm just at the very beginning of my conducting career, so I can't even enrolled to PhD studies without experience.
I thought it is the right way to focus on technical skills and deep knowledge and than to conduct. But I guess I'm wrong :c
Or just haven't met helpful people yet. Although I do my best every single day! Can't give up, can I  

Wish me good luck and maybe in a few years I will post my book here for free


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## tzwola

Thank you, but it's still not enough. If you would knew how long it took me to gain this knowledge it wouldn't be impressive at all  

Anyway I would love to hear from you! Many thanks


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## tzwola

tzwola said:


> Maybe some day, but I'd love to! Right now I'm just at the very beginning of my conducting career, so I can't even enrolled to PhD studies without experience.
> I thought it is the right way to focus on technical skills and deep knowledge and than to conduct. But I guess I'm wrong :c
> Or just haven't met helpful people yet. Although I do my best every single day! Can't give up, can I
> 
> Wish me good luck and maybe in a few years I will post my book here for free


This one is to amfortas and the latter one to Rogerx. Forgive me, the 'Reply' button works in surprising way


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## Xenophiliu

There are a few reference titles that are gold standard. Most tend to focus on history, but academics are usually good about getting into the details:

A Short History of Opera (4th Ed.) - Donald Grout/Williams, 1000+ pgs.

Rough Guide to Opera (4th ed.) - Boyden, 700+ pgs.

A History of Opera - Abbate/Parker, 600+ pgs.




Of course, you could find specific topics in Grove or Oxford and follow their citations and sources.

For example, Paolo Fabbri contributed 10 chapters gathered together as 'Metrical and Formal Organization' in Opera, that might be up your alley.


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## tzwola

Xenophiliu said:


> There are a few reference titles that are gold standard. Most tend to focus on history, but academics are usually good about getting into the details:
> 
> A Short History of Opera (4th Ed.) - Donald Grout/Williams, 1000+ pgs.
> 
> Rough Guide to Opera (4th ed.) - Boyden, 700+ pgs.
> 
> A History of Opera - Abbate/Parker, 600+ pgs.
> 
> Of course, you could find specific topics in Grove or Oxford and follow their citations and sources.
> 
> For example, Paolo Fabbri contributed 10 chapters gathered together as 'Metrical and Formal Organization' in Opera, that might be up your alley.


Thank you, Xenophiliu. I was able to find only A History of Opera - Abbate/Parker on-line for now. I checked on Scribd, kupdf, pdfceffe and dlscrib. I know it's not the best solution, but sadly I have no easy access to any good library :c
Is there any other site you know with PDFs only for educational purpose?

And I will definitely check the 'Metrical and Formal Organisation' in Grove!


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## tzwola

Xenophiliu said:


> There are a few reference titles that are gold standard. Most tend to focus on history, but academics are usually good about getting into the details:
> 
> A Short History of Opera (4th Ed.) - Donald Grout/Williams, 1000+ pgs.
> 
> Rough Guide to Opera (4th ed.) - Boyden, 700+ pgs.
> 
> A History of Opera - Abbate/Parker, 600+ pgs.
> 
> Of course, you could find specific topics in Grove or Oxford and follow their citations and sources.
> 
> For example, Paolo Fabbri contributed 10 chapters gathered together as 'Metrical and Formal Organization' in Opera, that might be up your alley.


Forgive me all, I don't know how to delete this post...


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## Xenophiliu

tzwola said:


> Thank you, Xenophiliu. I was able to find only A History of Opera - Abbate/Parker on-line for now. I checked on Scribd, kupdf, pdfceffe and dlscrib. I know it's not the best solution, but sadly I have no easy access to any good library :c
> Is there any other site you know with PDFs only for educational purpose?
> 
> And I will definitely check the 'Metrical and Formal Organisation' in Grove!


Fabbri is a musicologist who contributed to 'Opera in theory and practice, image and myth' from the multiple book series _A History of Italian Opera_ by Bianconi/Pestelli. I think this was published by the University of Chicago.

Otherwise, there must be some Bel Canto books out there. I don't have any, and I imagine sorting out the ones that are purely history, or focuses on librettos or vocal technique would be tough. Hopefully these get you closer to what you want.


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## Xenophiliu

tzwola said:


> Is there any other site you know with PDFs only for educational purpose?


I don't know if they are free, but one requires a library. I will keep looking.

https://www.scribd.com/book/338693487/A-Short-History-of-Opera
https://archive.org/details/roughguidetooper00boyd


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## tzwola

Xenophiliu said:


> I don't know if they are free, but one requires a library. I will keep looking.
> 
> https://www.scribd.com/book/338693487/A-Short-History-of-Opera
> https://archive.org/details/roughguidetooper00boyd


Thank you for the links. I was surprised that you found one of the book on Scribd and I didn't, but now I see why. It's anavaiable in my country :c Not fair, isn't it? 

It's very nice of you, I'll keep looking


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