A Night at the Opera: An Irreverent Guide to The Plots, The Singers, The Composers, The Recordings (Modern Library Paperbacks)
by Sir Denis Forman

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Book Reviews of A Night at the Opera: An Irreverent Guide to The Plots, The Singers, The Composers, The Recordings (Modern Library Paperbacks)

Book Review: Nutty, profound, and extremely enjoyable
Summary: 5 Stars

"Death is extremely common and has an almost universal characteristic unknown in our world, namely a period of Imminence during which the doomed person suffers a compulsion to sing. There are few known cases in Oprania where death has occurred without an aria, or at least a cavatina, being delivered during Imminence. The period of Imminence for long deaths can last for up to a whole act. Not even decapitation can ensure an aria-free death..."

If you think bursting into song at death's door is highly unlikely, listen to what the author--I mean your uncle--has to say about Valentin's death (he was stabbed by Faust with the help of the devil) in Gounod's "Faust:"

"Valentin is found dying in the street by a respectful and horrified chorus. He makes the customary brave gestures of a soldier in the face of death and turns on Marguerite [his sister who is Faust's lover] rather nastily (first in recitative and then in a short aria) saying that the only course open to her now is to become a hooker for the rest of her life."

Valentin curses his sister and dies, and for all his musical effort is only awarded one star (out of a possible three) by Sir Denis. "Faust" itself is rated a 'beta' (on a scale where 'alpha-plus' is reserved for truly great operas such as "The Marriage of Figaro", and 'gamma or less' for truly forgettable operas such as "La Rondine").

I almost subtracted a star from my review because Sir Denis awarded 'betas' to two of my favorite operas (Handel's 'Caesar' and Verdi's 'Forza'), but "A Night at the Opera" is way too good and funny and idiosyncratic (in the grand style that only British authors seem to be able to carry off) to be anything but a five-star book.

The eighty-three operas that were chosen to appear in this book all had three or more versions listed in the "Gramophone" CD catalogue of December 1992, from Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur" to Berg's "Wozzeck." Each opera's libretto is lovingly (and somewhat whackily) described. There is a "Look Out For" section that describes and rates the opera's arias, preludes, choruses, intermezzos, etc. with one to three stars. Example: "Si adempia il voler" from Puccini's "Tosca":

"The final scene [of Act II]: Scarpia sits down to write the phoney letter of safe conduct to a sweeping melody,** calm but full of menace, giving us a breathing space between the storms past and the storm to come: then the 'kiss of Tosca' [she stabs Scarpia] with all the stops out--and the calm melody plays the scene out (All Rome trembled before him) ending with a sonorous funereal version of Scarpia's theme accompanied by a death rattle of drums. Stupendous."

Stupendous, indeed, even though Sir Denis only gives it two stars.

The final two sections describing each opera are "News and Gossip"--background on how and why the opera was composed, and "Comment"--the author's summary of where the opera fits in the repertoire (plus any other remarks he chooses to make).

This is a grand old book, all 959 pages of it. I read the whole thing, even the penultimate "Words Words Words" dictionary, and the final page of acknowledgements, "Friends, Supporters, Colleagues and Minders."

Please, just one more quotation from the final page:

"I would like to thank: Bamber Gascoigne for giving me the idea in the first place (and let it be noted that this handsome acknowledgement in no way affects the author's title to 100% of the copyright)."

I loved this book and you will too, even if you only have a sneaking fondness for the 'Queen of Music'.

Summary of A Night at the Opera: An Irreverent Guide to The Plots, The Singers, The Composers, The Recordings (Modern Library Paperbacks)

The author--a British television executive and former deputy chairman of the Royal Opera House--covers most of the likely offerings of your local repertory company, with a few questionable omissions (Peter Grimes) and inclusions (The Threepenny Opera). For each he provides a synopsis, musical highlights, critical remarks, and historical information (the premiere of Il Trovatore: "stupendous"; that of Norma: "a flop"). Another section offers comments on everything from the craze for authenticity to the practice of booing.

Forman's opinions sometimes run athwart of convention. Falstaff "has no sex appeal and no heart, and opera demands both these qualities"; Tristan und Isolde is the creation of "the Wagner that liked to spend time stroking velvet." His tone, especially in the synopses, is often evocative of Anna Russell's opera parodies: "It really is too bad of you Tristan to die on me like this. She passes out."

The prose can be cute, but that fits Forman's approach of puncturing the inflated atmosphere of opera while glorying in it. Though he is most entertaining when he's daring to shout in church, his enthusiasms are as illuminating as his barbs. "Traviata is the first grown-up opera about contemporary life," he says, adroitly locating that work in operatic history. In Don Giovanni, "Mozart brought terror to the opera stage for the first time." It's the book's greatest pleasure that Forman's passion is matched by his knowledge. --David Olivenbaum

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