An insightful, provocative selection of the best opera performances, chosen by The New York Times's chief classical music critic in one hundred original essaysOpera intertwines the drama of the theater with the powerful emotionality of music. In this magical and illuminating guide to the best opera recordings, Anthony Tommasini delves into the ways story and music interweave to create the subtle but telling moments that move us. Tommasini brings to life the rich history of opera performance and the singers and conductors who, over the past century, have come to own the music. He chooses masterworks, such as Arturo Toscanini's La Boheme, captured for posterity fifty years after he conducted the opera's 1896 premiere for Puccini, and Leontyne Price's Leonora in Il Trovatore, an encapsulation of the ideal Verdi soprano. For aficionados and newcomers alike, Tommasini is the perfect guide to the passions and playfulness of the opera. Anthony Tommasini is chief classical music critic of The New York Times, author of the award-winning biography Virgil Thomson: Composer on the Aisle, and a pianist. He has recorded two albums of Thomson's music with Northeastern Records, Portraits and Self-Portraits and Mostly about Love: Songs and Vocal Works. He lives in New York City. Opera intertwines the visual action of the theater with the powerful emotional force of music, and yet this art form is no less powerful when experienced through recordings. In this charismatic and illuminating guide to the best operas and their recordings, Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic of The New York Times, delves deeply into the ways story and music combine to create moments that move us.Tommasini here brings to life the rich history of opera performance and the singers and conductors who have come to define both the roles and the music. He chooses recordings that continue to delight over the years, such as Arturo Toscanini's La Bohème, captured for posterity fifty years after he conducted the opera's 1896 premiere; the darkly comic interpretation of Mozart's Don Giovanni conducted by Josef Krips, who found inspiration in the libretto's title page; and Leontyne Price's Leonara in the famously tragic Il Trovatore—Tommasini's idea of the perfect Verdi soprano. He also names his choices for the best contemporary operas available in CD, including György Ligeti's already canonical 1970s opera, Le Grand Macabre, which marries comic books and Armageddon.In these 100 original essays, one of our most trusted and esteemed classical-music critics captures the essence of each opera's musical tapestry. Moreover, Tommasini also explores and explains the theatricality of each opera's story—and the way a particular singer's voice can enrich the sense of a character simply by imbuing it with a raspy, reedy, or lilting quality. Perfect for aficionados, music students, and newcomers alike, this is the perfect guide for appreciating the passion, performance, and playfulness of opera. "Opera lovers are notoriously argumentative, so anyone drawing up a list of the 'most important' works in the medium should expect to generate plenty of debate. Tommasini, chief music critic for The New York Times, recognizes that some of the selections in this opinionated, and admittedly quirky, guidebook will prompt second-guessing, but he makes the case for each of them with passion and conviction. The result is a collection of original essays that should prove both illuminating to opera novices and thought-provoking to longtime fans."—Publishers Weekly Read Less