Media & The Arts
Welcome to the wonderful world of opera – and in particular Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida, Carmen, La Bohème, Tosca, and Madam Butterfly. You may be familiar with some or all of these eight blockbuster operas by name, but how well do you know the compelling tales they tell?
When Robins Nest brings them vividly to life in an accessible collection of eight short-story adaptations. From beginning to end, the action is unrelenting as it explores age-old themes of life and death, love and lust, loyalty and betrayal, humour and despair, and so much more.
The true rewards of discovering opera lie in attending live performances, where story, singers, acting, and orchestra combine with sets, costumes, lighting, and direction to create thrilling moments of joy and pain, tears and laughter. Taking your first steps into opera may seem daunting, but the stories chosen for this entertaining collection offer a seductive introduction for anyone wishing to dip their toes.
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
This wonderful book does that rare thing of appealing to both newcomers to opera and experienced opera-goers alike. For those yet to go to an opera, it is the ideal introduction to the often complicated plots in opera. Instead of reading the often very dry summaries of operas that can be found in programmes or online, Peter Perkins brings the stories to life by reimagining and reshaping them as short stories, sometimes told from the perspective of one of the characters (which I particularly loved). Even though each story is written vividly and creatively, the author always stays faithful to the actual plots, so that when eventually you go to see an opera you will have the plot clearly in your mind and you will walk into the theatre feeling that you know the characters already. For those who already feel they already have complete knowledge of all the opera plots, these stories have enough verve and good humour in them to help you return to the operas with new ears and eyes. Not only is there a lovely opening section which questions the purpose of opera and gives a brief background to operas, but there is also a very helpful appendix of operas and composers through time. My only complaint is that there are more operas (especially Wagner!) where I could do with the help of Peter Perkins retelling those complex stories! But that is something to look forward perhaps in a future book? I do hope so!
