Italian for the Opera Book

This book's aim is not to explore in long-winded depth every aspect of libretto Italian, but rather to present in clear, jargon-free language and logical steps a most important key to the operatic world of Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, etc. You do not have to be a linguistic whiz or a native Italian. All it takes is some pleasurable application. As with most languages, verbs are the key to quick success and for this reason a large chunk of the book is devoted to them. Every effort has been made not to belabor the obvious and devote ample time to the more demanding points like the subjunctive, the dative of advantage, and the like. By the end of the book, you should understand operatic Italian well enough to make your way through most parts of most librettos. 'Italian for the Opera' draws on hundreds of interesting quotations from famous operas and whnever possible I have tried to use extractas from well-known arias. You will also find interesting anecdotes, illustrations, and even self-testing exercises (with answer keys in back). Comments on the significance of the libretto have also been included.Read More