A World Weird and Wondrous
Dec 01, 2021
3 minutes
Review by Wynne Delacoma
THE IMPOSSIBLE ART: Adventures in Opera
BY MATTHEW AUCOIN
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 301 pp., $28
MATTHEW AUCOIN HAPPILY wrestles with multiple impossibilities in this highly personal book. In vivid, granular detail, he explores composers and operas he loves, from Claudio Monteverdi in 17th-century Italy to contemporary British composers Harrison Birtwistle and Thomas Adès. He also highlights the process of writing two of his own three operas: a work about Walt Whitman dating from 2015, and which premiered in February 2020 at the Los Angeles Opera.
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days