When the Fat Lady Sings: Opera History As It Ought To Be Taught

by David W. Barber

In the 10 years since its first publication, When the Fat Lady Sings has sold more than 60,000 copies worldwide. Now, to celebrate a decade of delighting opera fans and foes alike, musical historian and humorist David Barber has prepared a special revised and expanded edition of his hilarious bestselling history of opera. Chapters such as Serious Buffoonery , Teutonic Tunesmiths and, of course, Italian Sausage Machines display Barber's rapier wit and knack for knowing fascinating, if sometimes useless, information about music, musicians and the offbeat world they live in. This expanded edition includes new material ranging from Strauss to ragtime, opera to the Tenor Menace. From Italian castrati to German Ring-bearers, from Handel's fights with rival sopranos to Puccini's nicotine habit, the author of Bach, Beethoven and the Boys and Tenors, Tantrums and Trills delivers a funny yet informative, irreverent yet affectionate history of serious music's most serious art form as only he can - and as only he would dare to do.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Humor

Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

David W. Barber is a journalist and musician and the author of more than a dozen books of music (including Accidentals on Purpose; Bach, Beethoven and the Boys; When the Fat Lady Sings; and Getting a Handel on Messiah) and literature (including Quotable Sherlock, Quotable Alice and Atonement and other stories). Formerly a writer and entertainment editor of The Kingston Whig-Standard, editor of Broadcast Week magazine at the Toronto Globe and Mail and the assistant editor of arts and life for Postmedia newspapers, he is currently a freelance writer, editor, musician and composer. As a composer, his works include two symphonies, a jazz mass based on the music of Dave Brubeck, a Requiem, several short choral and chamber works and various vocal-jazz songs and arrangements. He sings with the Toronto Chamber Choir and various other choirs on occasion. In a varied career, among his more interesting jobs have been short stints as a roadie for Pope John Paul II, a publicist for Prince Rainier of Monaco and a backup singer for Avril Lavigne.

Learn about his other books at IndentPublishing.com

Reviews

[Laura]

I picked this up at a local library sale years ago. At the time I was singing weekly in a choir. Just getting around to reading it. Somewhat informative, slightly humorous for those interested in music.

[Kathy]

Looking forward to a lighthearted discussion of opera, I was so very disappointed to read a rather snarking work of heavy-handed, often inappropriate humor and blatant disrespect for the genre. In addition, the publisher/printer made some glaring errors (I used to be an editor) in punctuation, spacing, and even a few misspellings. Bah.

[Rebekah]

This book was very humorous and informative - giving a nice 3-6 page summary of most major composers of baroque-romantic era opera. I was drawn to this book mainly through the title; however, it was disappointing to find that fat-jokes were made at the expense of certain opera singers for a cheap laugh.

[Andrew West]

Short and pithy

Really funny look at opera history.

A nice little book for people who have no idea what opera is all about, and maybe don’t want to. The author keeps you snickering from the first page with puns, so if you don’t like puns but you want to know about opera this might not be the book for you.
For those who are fans of opera and want to see if this is worth reading, even when the author blasts one of your favorite composers, (cough Wagner cough,) he still does it in a way that makes you shake your head in simple sad disagreement rather than provoking you to Howell’s of outrage.
Overall, an excellent book

[Nancy]

It is a fun little book and worth the read if you know some of the operas he is talking about. I did learn that someone did the Iolanthe story , or at least used the title (the book was not clear which), before Gilbert and Sullivan wrote theirs. I will have to find out more about that one. It gives a brief biography of the composers and their work. Really well done with a good deal of wit.

[Jane]

Not as funny as I had expected, but a concise overview.

[Lancen Davis Harms]

euro boys write angry musicals

[Karen Barros Vega]

Recommended

Catchy and easy to read, specially if you are into music history and want to learn it from a different point of view.

[Ulana32]

Kiedy gruba dama śpiewa

[Mike Barat]

I can't say I'm a opera fan however the writer David Barber tells stories about various composers and operas in an interesting and humorous way, and uses only uses a 133 pages to do so. Even the foot notes in this book are interesting, that never happens. Even most opera fans will tell you that it's hard to tell someone about opera and make it interesting, so the writer deserves a lot of credit for that. However one problem I did have with this book there's parts where I can't tell if what he's saying is serious or a joke. Nonetheless if your an opera dummy like me and want to learn more about opera this book is prefect for you.

[Keith]

The subtitle says it all: Opera History as it ought to be taught." (Although it's really about the composers rather than their operas.)

As with his other books, it is a humorously engrossing book. Not being a big opera buff, I find another of his books more meaningful: Bach, Beethoven and the Boys: Music History as It Ought to Be Taught.

[Michael]

For a man who seems to like opera, he also seems to hate it. I don't know if it's some self-loathing, but his joke-cracking (?) goes from good ribbing to hate by the end. Still, it's a breezy read and sometimes it is pretty funny. Oh and if you don't like Wagner (and I will never defend the man's actions), at least get the synopsis' right. Don't use this as a primer.

[Jorge]

Greatest footnotes ever!

[Gail]

A really terrible book: not informative, not funny; just a sad attempt to explain a bit about opera in a humorous way. It didn't work on any level.

[Adri]

Loved it.

[Charlotte]

Hysterical!

[Kara]

funny and short. :)

[Jill Woodward]

Opera history written by someone who sure seems to hate it.

[Karen Christino]

Wonderful introduction to the high-brow world of opera by a low-brow aficionado. Pithy and irreverent.

[Cathy]

Mildly amusing but highly informative overview of major opera composers and their works.