Beaumarchais in Seville: An Intermezzo Drawing on Beaumarchais’s letters and commentaries, translated into English for the first time, Hugh Thomas investigates the full range of the playwright’s activities in Madrid. Inspired b
| Title | : | Beaumarchais in Seville: An Intermezzo |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.65 (744 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0300136331 |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2009-01-06 |
| Genre | : |
Editorial : From Booklist *Starred Review* Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais' plays The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro inspired Mozart and Rossini to score arguably the most well-known and beloved characters of the Golden Age. Thomas follows Beaumarchais to Madrid for a year to plumb the playwright's cultural and professional exploits and chart his megalomaniacal ambition. Along the way, Beaumarchais introduces us to situations and people that will eventually make their way to his stage. But however fascinating the fictional lineage of Figaro and Almaviva, the book's deeper gratification exists in a nuanced, critical, conscientiously researched portrait of the driven man who gave them birth. His noble inclinations soon take a backseat to his own compulsion for notoriety. His every action is defined by its opportunity to increase his personal wealth and stature, and he seems willing to exploit anything or anyone to that end. These pursuits reveal perhaps the most com
In 1764-65 the irrepressible playwright Beaumarchais traveled to Madrid, where he immersed himself in the life and society of the day. Inspired by the places he had seen and the people he had met, Beaumarchais returned home to create The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, plays that became the basis for the operas by Rossini and Mozart that continue to delight audiences today. This book is a lively and original account of Beaumarchais’s visit to Madrid (he never went to Seville) and a re-creation of the society that fired his imagination.Drawing on Beaumarchais’s letters and commentaries, translated into English for the first time, Hugh Thomas investigates the full range of the playwright’s activities in Madrid. He focuses particular attention on short plays that Beaumarchais attended and by which he was probably influenced, and he probes the inspirations for such widely recognized characters as the barber-valet Figaro, the lordly Count A
I could not put this book down.. It also manages to tell the story in a straightforward and concise manner. Some guests feed on people: lice, fleas, bedbugs. Without wanting to give her publicity, I would love to hear the other side of the story; why she did it and were her other books original or adapted from previous lesser known gems?. Used this on our trek to Torres del Paine.It was our favorite map- we had to others- but this one is the best!. Some are almost welcome (crickets) and some cause homeowner panic (termites). Peter's, although no doubt large by most standards, is painfully inadequate for the task it faces; that is, filling the world's largest liturgical volume with sound. Unfortunately the writing is cumbersome, archaic and stiff. This collection of personal happenings to the author, his family and his friends is fascinating! The many individuals he has met, interacted with and written about is incredible. I'd already ordered this book before the Sept 11th disasters, bu
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