Verdi With a Vengeance - Annotated by William Berger (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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 detailed discography of the best recordings to buy, it can all be found in Verdi with a Vengeance. William Berger has given another improbable performance, serving up a book as thorough as it is funny and as original as it is astute, an utterly indispensable guide for novice and expert alike.

From the Back Cover

Have you ever found yourself wondering who precisely Aida is, and why all the fuss? Are you embarrassed to admit that you've no earthly idea what Rigoletto is about? Perhaps you've wondered about the nineteenth-century political implications of the suicide in Ernani, or why Il trovatore could be the unacknowledged source of rock 'n' roll, or what exactly was the nature of the relationship between Alexandre Dumas and Marie Duplessis, the woman who inspired the role of Violetta in La traviata? Maybe you simply want to know why so many believe the world can be divided into two populations: those "who think that Don Carlos is the Greatest Thing That Has Ever Happened to Art", and everybody else.

Whatever it is you could possibly want to know about Verdi -- from the composer's intense hatred of priests to historical sources for all the operas to a detailed discussion of what to expect from a performance -- it is all in Verdi with a Vengeance. William Berger, inimitable author of Wagner Without Fear, has once again defied all odds by writing a book as indispensable for the newcomer as it is for the expert, a unique book that is as fascinating as it is helpful, as funny as it is smart.

Review Quotes

Praise for William Berger's Wagner Without Fear

"An engaging guide."--The New Yorker

"Witty, knowledgeable, iconoclastic, and emphatically nonacademic...with a down-to-earth, gossipy approach that belies a keen intelligence.... Often outrageously funny."--Library Journal