Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Opera

By: Alan Riding, Leslie Dunton-Downer
Narrated by: Charles Armstrong
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them.

Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom they collaborated to create the magical blend of words and music that make up opera.

From its origins in the 17th-century courts of Italy to live screenings in public spaces today, Opera: The Definitive Story follows the history of opera from Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in 1607, to Cosi fan Tutte, La Bohème, and modern operas such as Brokeback Mountain. It explains musical terminology, traces historical developments, and sets everything in cultural context.

It also explores the great opera houses of the world, such as La Scala, Milan, the Met in New York, and the Sydney Opera House. Opera: The Definitive Story is the essential book for anyone who wants to understand and enjoy the constantly evolving world of this beloved art form.

©2022 Alan Riding, Leslie Dunton-Downer (P)2022 DK Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The History of Opera cover art
A Mad Love cover art
Opera 101 cover art
Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion cover art
Discover: Music of the Romantic Era cover art
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Ludwig van Beethoven cover art
Mad and Bad cover art
Dying Every Day cover art
England Football: The Biography cover art
Brunelleschi's Dome cover art
The Indispensable Composers cover art
A Little History of the World cover art
La Passione cover art
Wagner cover art
My Shakespeare cover art
Natasha's Dance cover art

What listeners say about Opera

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.