Opera a to Z

by Liddy Lindsay

[lovelybookshelf]

Opera A to Z begins with a brief history of the art form, followed by 26 synopses of operas from all time periods, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each plot summary is accompanied by a watercolor illustration depicting a scene from that opera. The book concludes with a few pages defining common musical terms.

Liddy Lindsay's watercolors are incredibly interesting, beautiful, and I loved how colorful they are. But a few of the illustrations simply did not garner as much of my enthusiasm as I expected. This is such a subjective thing, though, so I encourage you to view the images yourself on her website.

This is a brief book which provides a great deal of breadth, impressive considering Lindsay was limited to only 26 selections! Well-loved operas and lesser known works are both covered, and from a balanced variety of time periods and composers.

Opera A to Z is geared for ages 8-12, but it is also appropriate for anyone older than that (I'm not sure it would hold the attention of many younger children). This is a good resource with solid information for anyone looking for an introduction to opera, or for anyone (like myself) who could use a quick reference/refresher of opera storylines.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.