Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Recommended Gifts For Reading During the Holiday Season

John Fleming of the St. Petersburg Times offers up two operatically tinged books that would make great gifts this holiday season: "The Wagner books continue to get churned out. The most recent to offer something new is Wagner and the Erotic Impulse by Laurence Dreyfus (Harvard University Press, 266 pages, $27.95). 'What is it in the notes and sounds -- in their melodies, harmony, orchestration, rhythm and texture -- that arouse thoughts of sexual desire?' asks Dreyfus of Wagner's music. Another notable opera book is Garry Wills' meditation on two masters of the stage, Verdi's Shakespeare: Men of the Theater (Viking, 225 pages, $25.95)." [Source]