About the Book
The History of the Musical is a unique, bold, and entertaining undertaking that traces the musical from its origins in classical music (Gay's The Beggar's Opera, Offenbach's operettas and Gilbert and Sullivan) to its flowering in America; Showboat, Anything Goes, High Society, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Oliver, Cabaret, A Little Night Music, The Rocky Horror Show, The Phantom of the Opera, and an almost endless list of other classics.
Endless too are the stars who brought life to these musicals: the composers Kern, Porter, Gershwin, Bernstein, Lloyd Webber; the famous partnerships such as Rogers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe; the performers Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Howard Keel, Julie Andrews ... and the tempestuous creative background to the productions themselves. With over 120 musical examples illustrating this remarkable story, the history of the musical in all its glory comes alive.
About the Author :
Richard Fawkes is a writer, director, and producer who specializes in classical music. He is a regular contributor to Opera Now, Classical Music magazine, and The Singer, and has contributed to the BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, the Daily Telegraph, She, the Sunday Telegraph, the Sunday Times, and the Independent, mostly on music and the arts. He is the author of several books, including Opera on Film, Welsh National Opera, Notes from a Low Singer, Fighting for a Laugh, and The Last Corner of Arabia, among others. His audio productions, The History of Classical Music and The History of Opera, won Talkie Awards.
Kim Criswell is one of the most exciting performers of our time. Her stage appearances include the original casts of Nine, Baby, The First, Stardust, and The Threepenny Opera on Broadway; Opera Pacific's Kismet and Cats in Los Angeles; and Annie Get Your Gun, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, Dames at Sea, and The Slow Drag in the West End. She has worked with numerous leading conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle, Richard Hickox, Marin Alsop, Leonard Slatkin, John McGlinn, and her regular partners Wayne Marshall and John Wilson with whom she appears in recital, concerts, and festivals all over the world.
