Scott L. Balthazar has been teaching about opera for nearly a quarter century, and he has been studying the field even longer. For the past two decades, he has been Professor of Music History at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. He has written numerous articles on opera and contributed to other encyclopedias on the topic.
Balthazar (West Chester Univ.) has conceived this historical
dictionary as an academic textbook in alphabetical format, with
entries for important composers, librettists, performers,
impresarios, publishers, individual keystone operas, major cities,
and terms. In entries for composers and other persons, Balthazar
keeps biographical information to a minimum and emphasizes
commentary on their achievements. Articles dealing with composers
(e. g., Mozart, Verdi), librettists (e. g., Da Ponte, Boito), and
singers (e. g., Callas, Pavarotti) present succinct accounts of
their unique abilities and achievements. However, several composers
lack entries, including Johann Strauss II (his compatriot, Lehár,
is included), Humperdinck, and Gershwin, who are still represented
in today's repertoire. Included is a useful piece titled
"Categories of Opera," which provides cross-references to articles
on the most important types of opera and operetta. Balthazar also
surveys the contributions that women have made to opera. He
provides an extensive bibliography of English-language books,
dissertations, and articles published during the last 50 years.
This dictionary will be a valuable acquisition for academic
libraries with modest budgets. Summing Up: Recommended.
Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty.
*CHOICE*
The latest entry in Scarecrow’s Historical Dictionaries of Language
and the Arts series covers the entire gamut of opera, from the
earliest productions through such contemporaries as Glass and
Adams. The dictionary section contains about 350 entries, ranging
from a short paragraph to three pages, and mostly focuses on
composers. Fewer entries cover significant performers, impresarios,
venues, works, and terminology. Every entry includes bolded
cross-references, and many feature additional see also references
that lead to other entries within the volume. Entries are well
written . . . and all are objective rather than subjective.
Coverage is heaviest in the golden age of opera, the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries. . . .As with other dictionaries in the
series, the current volume includes a brief timeline, a short
introductory essay, and a good secondary bibliography. Although
some might question the need for still another opera reference
book, Balthazar does a better job with uniting information on
composers, terms, and works than other excellent but more focused
single-volume works. . . .This work is recommended for all music
collections.
*American Reference Books Annual*
Balthazar presents an accessible dictionary of opera for students,
as well as enthusiasts, performers, and composers, that contains
about 350 entries on composers, librettists, performers,
conductors, other figures, terms, stylistic movements, selected key
operas, genres, cities, and other topics. It covers the genre from
about 1600 to the present in the major Italian, French, German,
eastern European nationalist, and British traditions, as well as
others like the Spanish and Chinese traditions. Operetta and
musical theater are not covered in detail. The introduction surveys
opera and its influences and trends.
*Book News, Inc.*
This is a further addition to Scarecrow’s excellent Historical
Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts series. Covering opera from
1600 to the present day this dictionary will join its companion
volumes as a useful quick reference guide for students and, in this
case, opera-lovers. . . .The 100 page bibliography that follows the
dictionary sequence is a welcome part of such a book whose subject
is so well-documented, and this will in itself be incredibly useful
to the scholar. This series continues to offer excellent one volume
fare in an accessible format while still allowing for browsing that
just does not seem to work so effectively via the computer screen.
It is thoroughly recommended for all appropriate reference
collections.
*s*
Ask a Question About this Product More... |