Everything you could possibly know about Verdi and his operas, from the brilliant and humorous author of Wagner Without Fear.
If you want to know why La traviata was actually a flop at its premiere in 1853, it's in here.If you want to know why claiming to have heard Bjorling's Chicago performance of Il trovatore is the classic opera fan faux pas, it's in here.Even if you just want to know how to pronounce Aida, or what the plot of Rigoletto is all about, this is the place to look.From the composer's intense hatred of priests to synopses of the operas and a...