Question:
Having grown up in the Toronto area, my parents used to take me as achild to see the Canadian Opera Company, every month. As a child Iabsolutely loved it. Unfortunately, none of my childhood friends sharedthe same fondness. Thus, I never furthered my appreciation.
However, since the first Three Tenors Concert I have begun to return tobeing an avid listener of Opera music. I would like to take theopportunity over the summer to do some reading into the history anddynamics of opera. Can anyone suggest any worthwhile material?
Answer:
Grove's Opera Dictionary/Encylopedia is multivolume but a superbresource if you have access to a music library. Large city opera housesoften have associated book stores where many books for the layman can bepurchased. I concur with the Kobbe suggestion. Browsing the publiclibrary here in Santa Barbara, CA turned up many good introductoryvolumes. You can access the University of California Santa Barbara MusicLibrary on the WWW. It is a leading library for music.
Take a trip to Santa Barbara in July/August and visit the MusicAcademy of the West Summer Music Program and the UCSB Summer VocalInstitute. You can visit opera master classes and see up close andpersonal the art of operatic performance. Marilyn Horne, a formergraduate, is the new artistic director. The vocal accompaniament masterclasses are equally wonderful. All for $7.00 each. And the campussetting is gorgeous being in an old Montecito estate.
We have an excellent opera appreciation class in our SantaBarbara City College Adult Education program. It has been running weeklyfor over 5 years and the class grows each year.
I always find getting a "highlights" album works best whengetting to know a new opera. I just put in on at home or in the car andlisten, listen, listen. Gems slowly emerge from often the first timelistening cacophony. Then it all becomes glorious. But for me it takesa lot of time and dedication. The best hard work I have ever done.
