Written by John Burgess, freelance director and former Head of New Writing at the National Theatre, this book is an indispensable resource for the theatregoer, student and general reader.

Author: John Burgess

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571318803

Category: Performing Arts

Page: 416

View: 783

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An essential, refreshingly accessible guide to Greek and Roman drama containing entries for forty plays by all the major dramatists in the classical world - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, Terence and Seneca. Features include: · Playwright biographies · Synopses and detailed commentary · Advice on the best translations available · A survey of the ancient theatre and its social and political background. Written by John Burgess, freelance director and former Head of New Writing at the National Theatre, this book is an indispensable resource for the theatregoer, student and general reader.

... plays Paul Allen the faber pocket guide to handel Edward Blakeman the faber pocket guide to britten John Bridcut the faber pocket guide to ballet Deborah Bull and Luke Jennings the faber pocket guide to greek and roman drama John ...

Author: Sir Nicholas Kenyon

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571272006

Category: Music

Page: 512

View: 144

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The music of J.S.Bach has a unique power and attraction some 300 years after it was written. From annual performances of the great Passions and BBC Radio 3's hugely successful Bach Christmas, to its use in adverts, films and popular arrangements, the imaginative strength of Bach's music continues to draw listeners to explore its mysteries. This new Pocket Guide looks at all Bach's music, sacred and secular, and explores why he speaks so profoundly to our age about both the spiritual and the sensual in life. Among the features of this easy-to-use book: The Bach Top Ten Bach: The music work by work Performing Bach today Bach: The life year by year What people said about Bach Accessible and easy to use, Nicholas Kenyon provides for the first time an up-to-date survey of all Bach's major works in the light of the latest research, from Masses to Cantatas, Concertos to Suites, and recommends the best CDs and further reading.

In the Same Series A POCKET GUIDE To ALAN AYCKBOURN'S PLAYS Paul Allen THE FABER POCKET GUIDE To HANDEL Edward ... THE FABER POCKET GUIDE To BALLET Deborah Bull and Luke Jennings THE FABER POCKET GUIDE To GREEK AND RoMAN DRAMA John ...

Author: Michael Tanner

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571258482

Category: Music

Page: 304

View: 468

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Richard Wagner remains, almost 130 years after his death, the most controversial composer in the history of music. Creator of huge and hugely ambitious operas, which have an immense immediate impact, as well as providing food for endless thought and discussion, Wagner has had an influence on many fields outside music. In this lively pocket guide, Michael Tanner gives concise accounts of all his operas - the likes of Parsifal, Lohengrin and Tristan und Isolde - showing how important it is to grasp the dramatic situations at every point, and indicating some of the key musical features. He also provides an outline of Wagner's astonishing life, and shows that he has often been unfairly criticised and made a scapegoat, especially for political events which took place long after his death. Key features include: - Wagner: his life year by year - Wagner: his music work by work - Things people said about Wagner - Essential Wagner: ten great moments - Wagner on CD and DVD - Wagner bibliography This indispensable Faber Pocket Guide provides a wealth of insights into Wagner and is essential reading for anyone with an interest in both and the man and his music. '[P]robably the best introduction ever written to this most complex of composers.' Simon Heffer, Telegraph

in the same series a pocket guide to alan ayckbourn's plays Paul Allen the faber pocket guide to handel Edward Blakeman the faber pocket guide to ballet Deborah Bull and Luke Jennings the faber pocket guide to greek and roman drama John ...

Author: John Bridcut

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571258499

Category: Music

Page: 448

View: 970

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John Bridcut, author of the acclaimed 'Britten's Children', will include significant fresh material which will make the book indispensable for Britten aficionados as well as for those who are discovering the composer's music for the first time. This guide is all about finding a way into Britten's music. An outline of planned chapters: - The Top Ten Britten pieces - Critics' First Impressions - Britten's Life - Britten and Pears - The things they said - The Music (stage works, choral works, songs, chamber music, orchestral works) - The Interpreters of Britten's work - Britten as Performer - The Impresario (English Opera Group and Aldeburgh Festival) - Britten's Homes - Trivial Pursuits

in the same series a pocket guide to alan ayckbourn's plays Paul Allen the faber pocket guide to ballet Deborah Bull and Luke Jennings the faber pocket guide to greek and roman drama John Burgess the faber pocket guide to opera Rupert ...

Author: Edward Blakeman

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571268801

Category: Music

Page: 336

View: 758

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The Faber Pocket Guide to Handel offers a detailed but accessible exploration of George Frederick Handel, his composition, and his legacy. A larger-than-life figure in his time, Handel's reputation has been less than steady since his death in 1759. Was he (in the words of Berlioz) just 'a great barrel of pork and beer', or (as Handel himself claimed) truly 'the master of us all'? Now, more than 250 years after his death, there is more interest in Handel than ever before, with his operas (such as Rinaldo and Agrippina) experiencing fantastic renewed popularity. This lively new Pocket Guide goes in search of the composer who wrote the Messiah, Water Music - and much more. Handy for browsing and reference, key features include: - Handel's life: year by year - Handel's operas: a complete guide - Essential Handel - Picturing Handel - Handel on CD and DVD - Handel Online Edward Blakeman assesses how Handel's works - incredibly influential in their context of baroque music - have stood the test of time and why they can still speak thrillingly to us today. With recommendations throughout for listening, further reading, and web surfing, this is the ideal guide for music lovers who want to discover the great composer for themselves.

in the same series a pocket guide to alan ayckbourn's plays Paul Allen the faber pocket guide to handel Edward Blakeman the faber pocket guide to ballet Deborah Bull and LukeJennings the faber pocket guide to greek and roman drama John ...

Author: James Inverne

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571268665

Category: Music

Page: 304

View: 713

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With hit TV shows picking the leads in productions of Oliver! and The Sound Of Music, and smash musicals like Hairspray and Wicked all the West End rage, musical theatre is as popular as it's ever been. James Inverne provides an indispensable guide to his top one hundred greatest shows of all time - and ten of the worst. Whether you know your Pal Joey from The Producers, your West Side Story from your Witch Witch, the Faber Pocket Guide To Musicals is packed with entertaining behind-the-scenes stories, essential songlists and comprehensive recording guides. Did you know, for instance, that one of the best recordings of Les Miserables is in Hebrew? Or that the Mel Brooks wasn't the first person to want to make a musical of The Producers? (That claim goes to Eric Idle.) Or the ridiculous story of the huge purpose-built theatre constructed in Holland to house a flop about Grace Kelly? Key features include: - The hundred greatest musicals - Numbers to listen for - Snapshot plot summaries - Ten terrible musicals - Recommended recordings James Inverne has been writing about musical theatre for years and brings copious knowledge, passion for the subject and a sense of fun to a genre that continues to entertain us all. Make the most of the musicals with this vital book.

in the same series a pocket guide to alan ayckbourn's plays Paul Allen the faber pocket guide to handel Edward Blakeman the faber pocket guide to ballet Deborah Bull and Luke Jennings the faber pocket guide to greek and roman drama John ...

Author: Richard Wigmore

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571268733

Category: Music

Page: 400

View: 743

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Joseph Haydn is one of the greatest and most innovative of all composers, yet in some ways he is still curiously misunderstood. This engaging new Pocket Guide assesses what Haydn's music means to us today, and challenges some of the myths that have grown up around the composer. With suggestions for further reading and recommended CD recordings, Richard Wigmore's crisp and concise guide presents you with all you need to listen to and enjoy Haydn's music. It explores each of his key works, from his symphonies to his quartets, from his choral works to his sonatas, and invites a new generation of listeners to discover the depth and dazzling ingenuity of this most humane and life-affirming of composers.

... WORKS THE BBC PROMS GUIDE TO GREAT SYMPHONIES in the same series A POCKET GUIDE TOALAN AYCKBOURN'S PLAYS Paul Allen THE FABER POCKET GUIDE TO BALLET Deborah Bull andLuke Jennings THE FABER POCKET GUIDE TO GREEK AND ROMAN DRAMA John ...

Author: Sir Nicholas Kenyon

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571268696

Category: Music

Page: 400

View: 287

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Why is Mozart the best known and most popular of all the great Western classical composers? As the 250th anniversary of his birth approaches, his reputation stands higher than ever before. This lively new Pocket Guide assesses what Mozart means to us today, and explores why his music is so enduringly valued by listeners. The Guide aims to tell the general reader and listener in concise form all they need to know in order to listen to and enjoy Mozart's music - it will introduce a new generation of concert-goers and record-listeners to all his key works in forms from opera to symphony, concerto to song. In a crisp, sharp style, with extensive recommendations of good performances and recordings, Nicholas Kenyon shows how Mozart has turned a different face to every age that has performed his music and has communicated with unique. Separating the Mozart myth and the Mozart industry from the realities of his superb music, the book also asks key questions: How did Mozart compose? What did he look like? What did he think? How should we perform his music today? There will also be a brief calendar of Mozart's life, a musical glossary and a who's who of key figures in his life.

... Allen A POCKET GUIDE TO ALAN AYCKBOURN'S PLAYS Edward Blakeman THE FABER POCKET GUIDE TO HANDEL John Bridcut ESSENTIAL BRITTEN: A POCKET GUIDE FOR THE BRITTEN CENTENARY John Burgess THE FABER POCKET GUIDETO GREEK AND ROMAN DRAMA ...

Author: Luke Jennings

Publisher: Faber & Faber

ISBN: 9780571321605

Category: Performing Arts

Page: 288

View: 264

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The essential, easy-to-use classical ballet guide - spanning nearly two centuries of classical dance - with entries for more than eighty works from ballet companies around the world, from Giselle and Swan Lake to Cinderella and Steptext. This new edition has been revised to include new ballets by Wayne McGregor, Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon alongside classics by Tchaikovsky, Diaghilev and Balanchine. Features include: - plot summaries - an analysis of each ballet's principal themes - useful background and historical information - a unique, behind-the-scenes, performer's-eye view Dip in at random or trace the development of dance from cover to cover. Written by former Royal Ballet principal Deborah Bull and leading dance critic Luke Jennings, this ever popular Faber Pocket guide is a must for all ballet-goers - regulars and first-timers alike.

John Burgess (2005) The Faber Pocket Guide to Greek and Roman Drama, New York: Faber and Faber. Jim Cartwright (1996) Plays: 1, London: Methuen. John Gill (1992) Willy Russell and His Plays, Birkenhead: Countrywise.

Author: Ros Merkin

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

ISBN: 9781474230018

Category: Literary Criticism

Page: 120

View: 195

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Written specifically for GCSE students by academics in the field, the Methuen Drama GCSE Guides conveniently gather indispensable resources and tips for successful understanding and writing all in one place, preparing students to approach their exams with confidence. Key features include a critical commentary of the play with extensive, clearly labelled analyses on themes, characters and context. They take studying drama even further with sections on dramatic technique, critical reception, related works, fascinating behind-the-scenes interviews with playwrights, directors or actors, and a helpful glossary of dramatic terms. A well-established modern classic, Willy Russell's Blood Brothers tells the story of Mickey and Eddie, twins separated at birth who grow up to lead very opposite lives, but which constantly and inevitably intersect. Closely following the requirements of GCSE English Literature assessment objectives, these studies include expert advice on how to write about modern drama. With featured activities for group study and independent work, they are versatile and valuable to students and teachers alike.