Provides historical background, plot summaries, and critical analyses of the music and librettos of all Puccini's operas

A richly illustrated history of America's musical heritage ranges from the earliest examples of Native American traditional song and the sacred music of early settlers to the innovative sound of contemporary rock and jazz as it documents a diverse array of musical styles and the contributions of such legendary musicians as Charles Ives, George Gershwin, and Duke Ellington, among others.

Analyzes Wagner's music and compositional techniques, discusses his character, and examines the ideological tendencies of his approach to art

In American music, the notion of "roots" has been a powerful refrain, but just what constitutes our true musical traditions has often been a matter of debate. As Benjamin Filene reveals, a number of competing visions of America's musical past have vied for influence over the public imagination in this century. Filene builds his story around a fascinating group of characters?folklorists, record company executives, producers, radio programmers, and publicists?who acted as middlemen between folk and popular culture. These cultural brokers "discovered" folk musicians, recorded them, and promoted them. In the process, Filene argues, they shaped mainstream audiences' understanding of what was "authentic" roots music. Filene moves beyond the usual boundaries of folk music to consider a wide range of performers who drew on or were drawn into the canon of American roots music?from Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie, to Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, to Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. Challenging traditional accounts that would confine folk music revivalism to the 1930s and 1960s, he argues instead that the desire to preserve and popularize America's musical heritage is a powerful current that has run throughout this century's culture and continues to flow today.

This authoritative, new edition of the world's most loved songs and arias draws on original manuscripts, historical first editions and recent research by prominent musicologists to meet a high standard of accuracy and authenticity. Includes fascinating background information about the arias and their composers as well as a singable rhymed translation, a readable prose translation and a literal translation of each single Italian word.

Two hundred and eighty songs and ballads trace the growth of America

Explains how to develop an appreciation for opera by furnishing a concise history of opera, a glossary of terms, a list of books and recordings, a listener's guide to key operatic works, and advice on attending a performance

Act-by-act summaries of one hundred outstanding operas accompany notes on their production, arias, and literary background

“Noise is a model of cultural historiography. . . . In its general theoretical argument on the relations of culture to economy, but also in its specialized concentration, Noise has much that is of importance to critical theory today.