A comprehensive new OPERA STUDY GUIDE AND LIBRETTO of Verdi’s AIDA, featuring Principal Characters in the Opera; Brief Story Synopsis; Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples; a newly translated LIBRETTO with Italian and English translation side-by-side, with Music Highlight Examples; and Burton D. Fisher's in depth and insightful Commentary and Analysis. These small-format volumes devoted to individual operas are the first in a projected 200-volume series (with approximately four titles to be added each month). An expansion of the "Opera Journeys Mini Guide" series that the publisher launched last year, they include a brief synopsis, a story narrative with very brief music examples, commentary and analysis, a libretto, a discography, a videography, and a dictionary of opera and musical terms. Students and opera goers may find them attractive because of their reasonable price, their e-book availability on netLibrary, and the insightful commentary and analysis by Fisher (lecturer, Florida Intl. Univ.). A list of source materials, however, would have been useful; in portions of the Butterfly and Boh?me volumes, for example, Fisher seems to have relied to some extent on Julian Budden's articles in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Also, the discographies are rife with problems. Neither record labels nor formats are given, the editing is sloppy, names are misspelled ("Tuckers" for Tucker), many dates are incorrect, and some recordings are listed twice with different dates. In one case, a recording made in 1912 with singers who are surely deceased is dated 2001. An entry for a recording of Carmen reverses the women's roles, listing Gheorghiu as Carmen and Larmore as Michaela. Attractive format and engaging commentary aside, these volumes are compromised by their inaccuracies. Not recommended. [The ISBNs for the e-books are the same as those for the print versions. Ed.] Kate McCaffrey, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N. - Kate McCaffrey, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, NY Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Other Opera Journeys Publishing titles ALSO AVAILABLE at amazon.com: OPERA CLASSICS LIBRARY SERIES: Aida The Barber of Seville La Bohème Carmen Cavalleria Rusticana Così fan tutte Don Giovanni Lucia di Lammermoor Madama Butterfly The Magic Flute Manon Lescaut The Marriage of Figaro Otello I Pagliacci Rigoletto Salome Tosca Il Trittico (Il Tabarro/Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi) La Traviata Turandot and The Ring of the Nibelung (without libretto) OPERA JOURNEYS MINI GUIDE SERIES: Aïda Andrea Chénier The Barber of Seville La Bohème Boris Godunov Carmen Cavalleria Rusticana Così fan tutte Der Freischütz Die Fledermaus Don Carlo Don Giovanni Don Pasquale The Elixir of Love Elektra Eugene Onegin Exploring Wagners Ring Falstaff Faust Fidelio The Flying Dutchman Hansel and Gretel LItaliana in Algeri Julius Caesar Lohengrin Lucia di Lammermoor Macbeth Madama Butterfly The Magic Flute Manon Manon Lescaut The Marriage of Figaro A Masked Ball The Mikado Nabucco Norma Otello I Pagliacci Porgy and Bess The Rhinegold Rigoletto Der Rosenkavalier Salome Samson and Delilah Siegfried The Tales of Hoffmann Tannhäuser Tosca La Traviata Tristan and Isolde Il Trovatore Turandot Twilight of the Gods The Valkyrie Werther OPERA JOURNEYS LIBRETTO SERIES: Aida The Barber of Seville La Bohème Carmen Cavalleria Rusticana Così fan tutte Don Giovanni Edgar La Fanciulla del West Gianni Schicchi Lucia di Lammermoor Madama Butterfly The Magic Flute Manon Lescaut The Marriage of Figaro Otello I Pagliacci Rigoletto La Rondine Salome Suor Angelica Il Tabarro Tosca La Traviata Le Villi AND A History of Opera: Milestones and Metamorphoses Burton D. Fisher, a former opera conductor, is currently principal lecturer for the Opera Journeys Lecture Series at Florida International University, author-publisher of the Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series, a commissioned author for Season Opera Guides for regional opera companies, and a frequent opera commentator on National Public Radio. Used Book in Good Condition