Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
This is a magnificent book that really gets to grips with the subject of Italian opera. Kimbell’s grasp of his subject is astonishing, and it’s a hell of a good story. Opera comes from Italy, it was born there, and for two centuries, virtually every opera singer in the world was Italian. The story of how it started is a bit clouded in uncertainty, they’re not quite sure what happened when to create this extraordinary art form, but it developed from people reciting the Italian language in a way that enhanced its melodic quality. And then gradually this enhanced speech turned into tunes, and the tunes turned into arias over a span of about 150 years.
So let’s start with David Kimbell’s Italian Opera.
I thought this was a magnificent book, which really got to grips with the whole subject of Italian opera. The span of David Kimbell’s intellect and his grasp of his subject are absolutely astonishing, and it’s a hell of a good story.
Why Italian opera?
Opera comes from Italy, it was born there, and for two centuries virtually every opera singer in the world was Italian. Italian opera singers were exported and became very rich, going all around the world. There was a tremendous appetite for Italian opera and the Italian style of singing. And the story of how it started at the beginning of the 17th century is fascinating. It’s a bit clouded in uncertainty; they’re not quite sure what happened when to create this extraordinary art form. But they have managed to establish the room, in the building, in which the first opera took place. It developed from people reciting the Italian language in a way that enhanced its melodic quality. And then gradually this enhanced speech turned into tunes, and the tunes turned into arias over a span of about 150 years. And you have this amazing phenomenon whereby, at the beginning of the 19th century, opera had completely taken over Italy, much as happened in America during the explosion of cinema at the beginning of the 20th century.
Where is the room?
In Florence. The story of Italian opera is a fascinating story. If you’re even the tiniest bit interested in opera, this is a great book that really, really captures it.
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Robert Lloyd is an opera singer who became the principal bass at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1972. He was the first British bass to sing the title role in Boris Godunov at Covent Garden and made history when he sang the role with the Kirov Opera in St Petersburg. He has performed frequently at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. He has over 70 audio and video recordings to his name, and in 1991 was created a Commander of the British Empire.
