-
Tosca
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 8 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $6.08
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Tosca is Puccini at the peak of his theatrical power. The story of the jealous, impassioned opera singer Floria Tosca and her doomed love for the painter Mario Cavaradossi is played out against backgrounds both historically and geographically overwhelming. It is set in three great and historical locations of Rome during the Napoleonic era. Spectacle, sensuality, and cruelty battle for our attention in one of the most truly "action-packed" works of theatre.
Enticing us with just a couple of the "great tunes" from this deeply affecting opera, David Timson then begins setting the biographical and operatic scene. The enduring popularity of Tosca is quickly understood - its appeal generated largely from exactly the same elements which once caused academics to brand it a "shabby little shocker". The master of melody is at his finest, as David Timson illustrates with characteristic enthusiasm.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
La Traviata
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
La Traviata owes its enduring popularity to a superb story of young love and fatal sacrifice, set to music by Italy’s master melodist at the peak of his powers. Interest and poignancy are added by the fact that this is a true story - the baritone ‘heavy’ is Alexander Dumas who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo. But it is the central figure, the heroine Violetta, the archetypal ‘whore with the heart of gold’ who dominates the piece. It is her opera and we love her for it.
-
-
Superb Synopsis
- By opera4steph on 02-04-21
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Puccini: La Bohème
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
La Bohème is one of the three operas - the others are Carmen and Aida - believed to be the most popular ever written. In the case of La Bohème the reason is that it virtually defines the term "romantic". The poignant story of Mimì and Rodolfo is told in music of such tender beauty, allied, as always, to Puccini’s intuition of what works in the theatre. The result is an opera that readily appeals to our emotions and senses.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Il Trovatore
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Il Trovatore has been ruthlessly parodied. It is a tale of murder and mayhem, burned babies, roasted hags, would-be nuns, strolling minstrels, and bad baritones. And indeed the libretto does call for a willing suspension of disbelief. The reward is in the music, a score as prodigally melodic as only the mature Verdi could write: the "Anvil" chorus, the "Miserere" scene, two great tenor arias, a beautiful baritone aria - a richness without embarrassment.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
La sonnambula
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
La sonnambula was written by Bellini as a vehicle for two of the supreme singers of his age and accordingly is a fine example of the school we call bel canto, where beauty of voice and the virtuosity of the singers is integral to conveying the emotions in the soul of the composer. The fact that Bellini was one of the great melodists, writing long, beautiful vocal lines, that he was a master orchestrator and that he could write stirringly for the chorus all conspire to make La sonnambula extremely enjoyable.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Puccini: Madame Butterfly
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Madama Butterfly runs the gamut of operatic emotions. The title heroine has a fragility wonderfully expressed in her entry music, deep sexual instincts as shown in the love duet, and immense tragic stature in her last hours. The fate of Madama Butterfly - married to an American sailor and then abandoned - engages our emotions to a degree equaled by few other opera heroines. The oriental setting and the exquisite orchestral and choral writings are treasured bonuses.
-
-
Excellent introduction to a classic opera
- By Jason Monaghan on 08-06-18
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Falstaff
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Verdi’s Falstaff repays careful study with real pleasure. It is opera’s happiest irony that the great Italian master should cap a career - distinguished for its blood-and-thunder tragic masterpieces - with the greatest comic opera in the Italian repertory. The genius of Shakespeare is harnessed (in a miracle of compression) by master-librettist Boito to give the 80-year-old Verdi a superb libretto, on which he lavished more wonderful tunes than most composers manage in a lifetime.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
La Traviata
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
La Traviata owes its enduring popularity to a superb story of young love and fatal sacrifice, set to music by Italy’s master melodist at the peak of his powers. Interest and poignancy are added by the fact that this is a true story - the baritone ‘heavy’ is Alexander Dumas who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo. But it is the central figure, the heroine Violetta, the archetypal ‘whore with the heart of gold’ who dominates the piece. It is her opera and we love her for it.
-
-
Superb Synopsis
- By opera4steph on 02-04-21
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Puccini: La Bohème
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
La Bohème is one of the three operas - the others are Carmen and Aida - believed to be the most popular ever written. In the case of La Bohème the reason is that it virtually defines the term "romantic". The poignant story of Mimì and Rodolfo is told in music of such tender beauty, allied, as always, to Puccini’s intuition of what works in the theatre. The result is an opera that readily appeals to our emotions and senses.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Il Trovatore
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Il Trovatore has been ruthlessly parodied. It is a tale of murder and mayhem, burned babies, roasted hags, would-be nuns, strolling minstrels, and bad baritones. And indeed the libretto does call for a willing suspension of disbelief. The reward is in the music, a score as prodigally melodic as only the mature Verdi could write: the "Anvil" chorus, the "Miserere" scene, two great tenor arias, a beautiful baritone aria - a richness without embarrassment.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
La sonnambula
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
La sonnambula was written by Bellini as a vehicle for two of the supreme singers of his age and accordingly is a fine example of the school we call bel canto, where beauty of voice and the virtuosity of the singers is integral to conveying the emotions in the soul of the composer. The fact that Bellini was one of the great melodists, writing long, beautiful vocal lines, that he was a master orchestrator and that he could write stirringly for the chorus all conspire to make La sonnambula extremely enjoyable.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Puccini: Madame Butterfly
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Madama Butterfly runs the gamut of operatic emotions. The title heroine has a fragility wonderfully expressed in her entry music, deep sexual instincts as shown in the love duet, and immense tragic stature in her last hours. The fate of Madama Butterfly - married to an American sailor and then abandoned - engages our emotions to a degree equaled by few other opera heroines. The oriental setting and the exquisite orchestral and choral writings are treasured bonuses.
-
-
Excellent introduction to a classic opera
- By Jason Monaghan on 08-06-18
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Falstaff
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Verdi’s Falstaff repays careful study with real pleasure. It is opera’s happiest irony that the great Italian master should cap a career - distinguished for its blood-and-thunder tragic masterpieces - with the greatest comic opera in the Italian repertory. The genius of Shakespeare is harnessed (in a miracle of compression) by master-librettist Boito to give the 80-year-old Verdi a superb libretto, on which he lavished more wonderful tunes than most composers manage in a lifetime.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Tancredi
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rossini’s comic operas, like The Barber of Seville, are better known than his tragedies though he wrote in fact many more tragedies than comedies. One of them, his last, William Tell, is actually credited with launching the whole age of Grand Opéra. Tancredi is an early work - indeed his first smash hit - and it established his international fame.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
The Flying Dutchman
- Opera Explained
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Flying Dutchman is the perfect opera with which to approach the operatic mountain that is Richard Wagner. It is short, has a great story (the legend of the Dutch captain doomed to sail forever unless redeemed through love), and the striking score has many pre-echoes of Wagner's later great music dramas. It contains wonderful tunes in its arias, ensembles, and big choruses, and the orchestral writing - from the gale that blows out of the Overture to the final theme of "Redemption through Love" - will "blow you away".
-
-
An introduction to Wagner
- By Adeliese Baumann on 02-06-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Pelleas et Melisande
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dating from the last decade of the 19th century, Pelléas et Mélisande points the way into the 20th century. The score is hauntingly beautiful, but there is more to the work than shifting panels of elusive, impressionistic sound. Debussy retains the text of Maeterlinck’s play, and the linguistic subtleties of the French text are matched perfectly by the musical detail. Taking a little time to explore the romantic, elusive world of this opera is particularly rewarding.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Puccini: Turandot
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Puccini’s swansong has a claim to being the last great popular opera. Its melodies have enchanted audiences since its posthumous premiere in 1926, two years after Puccini’s death. It involves a chilling story of love and cruelty, an intriguing cast of characters against the exotic backdrop of Imperial China, magnificent choruses and ensembles, and dazzling orchestration in an exotic score that comprises a string of remarkable arias - among which the great tenor aria "Nessun dorma" is the jewel. It is more than Puccini’s last opera: It is the last word, in every sense, on Italian opera.
-
-
Fire and ice, hope and blood
- By Adeliese Baumann on 12-05-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Orfeo: Opera Explained
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Monteverdi’s Orfeo, first performed in 1607, generates a special excitement because it is the first unquestioned masterpiece of opera. Notable for its precise orchestration and powerful drama it was a groundbreaking work. It concerns the legend of Orpheus, the demigod whose music had the power to conquer the forces of Hell and to bring his wife back, briefly, to life. The extracts used in this introduction are from Naxos’ full recording; it uses authentic period instruments, which serve to evoke the early Baroque period of the opera’s composition.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Aida
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ancient Egypt and the war with Ethiopia is the setting for Verdi’s grandest opera. It is the story of the love between Rhadames, the Egyptian general, and Aida, an Ethiopian slave, and the jealousy of Amneris, daughter of the King of Egypt. It was written in 1871 to a commission from the Khedive of Egypt to inaugurate the new opera house in Cairo. Aida generally is considered one of the most spectacular of Verdi’s operas.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 1 min
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pagliacci may be the most completely compelling short opera in the repertory and owes much of its impact to a brilliant story based, it is said, on true life and told through the device of a play-within-a-play. The action is set in Calabria in the deep south of Italy where the jealousies and illicit passions of a troupe of strolling actors precisely intersect with the play they are performing - to both touching and tragic effect.
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Die Fledermaus
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Die Fledermaus is one of the few operatic works to which the phrase "never a dull moment" can be truthfully applied. From the explosive opening of the famous overture - reminiscent of a volley of champagne corks - through the surging energy of the "Fledermaus Waltz" and the many comic numbers, of which the accelerando trio is the finest, up to such huge concerted numbers as the "Duidu" finale to Act II, this is an operetta which almost incarnates nostalgia. Thomson Smillie and David Timson infuse their exploration of Die Fledermaus with as much life as the operetta itself.
-
-
Revenge of the bat
- By Adeliese Baumann on 12-08-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Carmen
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carmen is among the most popular operas for all the obvious reasons: great characters, a gripping story, and fabulous music. But what sets it on a pinnacle is an amazing combination of three factors: a sizzling Gipsy heroine (one of the most psychologically complex and compelling characters in all theatre), great atmosphere (Spain, hot sun, the bull-ring), and the prodigality of melodic invention - one great tune after another, at least a dozen of which are the staples of Madison Avenue and the animated cartoon.
-
-
Passion, power, and truth
- By Adeliese Baumann on 12-08-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Cavalleria Rusticana
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cavalleria rusticana is the short opera that has all the elements of a grand opera compressed into a single highly dramatic time span. The story of love, lust, blood-feud, and betrayal played out against the pageantry of the Easter celebrations in a Sicilian village delivers an emotional wallop because of the youthful vigor and musical wealth of its great score which includes the glorious "Easter Hymn" and the deeply moving "Intermezzo". Mascagni was never to repeat his youthful success but this brief work is enough to ensure his immortality.
-
-
Enjoy the opera as it was meant to be
- By Essam on 04-05-15
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Fidelio
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fidelio is a work like no other. Beethoven’s only opera is about the joy of married love - by a man who never knew that pleasure. It is about heroism by a man who was often mean and petty in his human relations; it is about freedom by a man who was a prisoner of his own deafness; and ultimately it is about joy by a man who experienced precious little of it.
-
-
Beethoven's only opera in all its glory
- By Adeliese Baumann on 04-20-13
By: Thomson Smillie
-
Verdi: Rigoletto
- By: Thomson Smillie
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 1 hr and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rigoletto is simply wonderful entertainment with superb music. It is also much more - a daring (for its time) attack on aristocratic privilege, a tender love story, and an impassioned appeal on behalf of the disadvantaged, all set to music of such wealth and beauty that, with its sister operas La traviata and Il trovatore, it has defined Italian opera for 150 years. Overcoming initial trouble with the censors, Verdi's Rigoletto was a smash hit at its premiere and has not been out of the repertoire since. It’s not hard to see why.
-
-
Fun intro (or recap) of the opera
- By EmilyK on 05-24-18
By: Thomson Smillie
Editorial reviews
Thomson Smillie’s series of Opera Explained audiobooks on individual operatic works is the perfect introduction for the would-be opera fan. Each title in the series runs about an hour, features plenty of recorded clips, and is narrated with pluck and good humor by David Timson. Your opera education starts here.
Giacamo Puccini, sometimes called "the master of melody", set his opera Tosca in Rome at the turn of the 19th century, when Napolean’s army was threatening to invade. The opera includes scenes of brutality, execution, and love, and is one of the most performed of all time.
Related to this topic
-
The Wonder of Stevie
- By: Wesley Morris
- Narrated by: Wesley Morris, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year 1972 saw the beginning of a five-year span in which Stevie Wonder released five groundbreaking, critically acclaimed albums, garnering him more than half a dozen Grammys and more than 10 million albums sold, securing his place as one of the most important American musicians and songwriters in history. For the first time, uncover the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.
-
-
Musically delightful and time stamps of the listeners life.
- By ZTheDifference on 09-15-24
By: Wesley Morris
-
Beat the Devil
- By: David Hare, Donald Katz - Introduction
- Narrated by: David Hare
- Length: 1 hr and 10 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2020, as the world grappled with the deepening coronavirus pandemic, acclaimed British screenwriter and playwright David Hare was struck down by the virus himself. With brutal honesty, sharp humor, and his trademark insight, the renowned writer of modern classics like Skylight and Plenty brings us into his own experience battling the bizarre and terrifying symptoms of Covid-19.
-
-
The narration and impactful personal retelling of experience
- By Shikha on 10-26-24
By: David Hare, and others
-
The Energy Curfew Music Hour
- By: Chris Thile, Claire Coffee, Punch Brothers
- Narrated by: Chris Thile, Punch Brothers
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s time to unplug with the Grammy-winning Punch Brothers, fronted by singer-mandolinist Chris Thile, as they bring you a multi-episode musical variety show with dazzling musical guests, like Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, Jon Batiste, Norah Jones, James Taylor, and many more.
-
-
The Music
- By Amazon Customer on 10-14-24
By: Chris Thile, and others
-
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
- By: Lorraine Hansberry
- Narrated by: Oscar Isaac, Rachel Brosnahan, Gus Birney, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fresh off the success of her groundbreaking first play, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window tells the tragicomic story of a young bohemian couple in New York's Greenwich Village, struggling to do what's right in a world that rewards everything that's wrong. Sidney is a dreamer who wants his own Walden Pond; Iris is a budding actress whose own backstory is a performance. They're caught in a moment where, "the world is about to crack right down the middle," as the play tackles racism, sexism, antisemitism, homophobia, liberal complacency, and more.
-
-
Irritating
- By Tonie on 10-16-24
-
The Godfather: A Film We Can't Refuse
- By: Paramount Pictures
- Narrated by: Rebecca Keegan
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With exclusive insights from the legendary cast, including Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, and Talia Shire, and commentary from a diverse array of film experts and ardent aficionados, we dissect the film’s magnetic allure and its pervasive influence across our culture. Journey alongside Rebecca Keegan, acclaimed senior film editor at The Hollywood Reporter, as she explores the heart of this cinematic masterpiece through a new lens.
-
-
Deep dive into The Godfather
- By C.F. on 08-28-24
-
Petty: The Biography
- By: Warren Zanes
- Narrated by: Warren Zanes
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one other than Warren Zanes, rocker and writer and friend, could author a book about Tom Petty that is as honest and evocative of Petty's music and the remarkable rock and roll history he and his band helped to write. Born in Gainesville, Florida, with more than a little hillbilly in his blood, Tom Petty was a Southern shit kicker, a kid without a whole lot of promise. Rock and roll made it otherwise.
-
-
Tom Petty gets some bio love
- By tru britty on 12-15-15
By: Warren Zanes
-
The Wonder of Stevie
- By: Wesley Morris
- Narrated by: Wesley Morris, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year 1972 saw the beginning of a five-year span in which Stevie Wonder released five groundbreaking, critically acclaimed albums, garnering him more than half a dozen Grammys and more than 10 million albums sold, securing his place as one of the most important American musicians and songwriters in history. For the first time, uncover the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.
-
-
Musically delightful and time stamps of the listeners life.
- By ZTheDifference on 09-15-24
By: Wesley Morris
-
Beat the Devil
- By: David Hare, Donald Katz - Introduction
- Narrated by: David Hare
- Length: 1 hr and 10 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2020, as the world grappled with the deepening coronavirus pandemic, acclaimed British screenwriter and playwright David Hare was struck down by the virus himself. With brutal honesty, sharp humor, and his trademark insight, the renowned writer of modern classics like Skylight and Plenty brings us into his own experience battling the bizarre and terrifying symptoms of Covid-19.
-
-
The narration and impactful personal retelling of experience
- By Shikha on 10-26-24
By: David Hare, and others
-
The Energy Curfew Music Hour
- By: Chris Thile, Claire Coffee, Punch Brothers
- Narrated by: Chris Thile, Punch Brothers
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s time to unplug with the Grammy-winning Punch Brothers, fronted by singer-mandolinist Chris Thile, as they bring you a multi-episode musical variety show with dazzling musical guests, like Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, Jon Batiste, Norah Jones, James Taylor, and many more.
-
-
The Music
- By Amazon Customer on 10-14-24
By: Chris Thile, and others
-
The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window
- By: Lorraine Hansberry
- Narrated by: Oscar Isaac, Rachel Brosnahan, Gus Birney, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fresh off the success of her groundbreaking first play, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window tells the tragicomic story of a young bohemian couple in New York's Greenwich Village, struggling to do what's right in a world that rewards everything that's wrong. Sidney is a dreamer who wants his own Walden Pond; Iris is a budding actress whose own backstory is a performance. They're caught in a moment where, "the world is about to crack right down the middle," as the play tackles racism, sexism, antisemitism, homophobia, liberal complacency, and more.
-
-
Irritating
- By Tonie on 10-16-24
-
The Godfather: A Film We Can't Refuse
- By: Paramount Pictures
- Narrated by: Rebecca Keegan
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With exclusive insights from the legendary cast, including Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, and Talia Shire, and commentary from a diverse array of film experts and ardent aficionados, we dissect the film’s magnetic allure and its pervasive influence across our culture. Journey alongside Rebecca Keegan, acclaimed senior film editor at The Hollywood Reporter, as she explores the heart of this cinematic masterpiece through a new lens.
-
-
Deep dive into The Godfather
- By C.F. on 08-28-24
-
Petty: The Biography
- By: Warren Zanes
- Narrated by: Warren Zanes
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one other than Warren Zanes, rocker and writer and friend, could author a book about Tom Petty that is as honest and evocative of Petty's music and the remarkable rock and roll history he and his band helped to write. Born in Gainesville, Florida, with more than a little hillbilly in his blood, Tom Petty was a Southern shit kicker, a kid without a whole lot of promise. Rock and roll made it otherwise.
-
-
Tom Petty gets some bio love
- By tru britty on 12-15-15
By: Warren Zanes
-
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon
- Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops, and the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream
- By: David McGowan
- Narrated by: Bill Fike
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The very strange but nevertheless true story of the dark underbelly of a 1960s hippie utopia. Laurel Canyon in the 1960s and early 1970s was a magical place where a dizzying array of musical artists congregated to create much of the music that provided the soundtrack to those turbulent times. But there was a dark side to that scene as well. Many didn't make it out alive, and many of those deaths remain shrouded in mystery to this day.
-
-
My first review. This book changed me.
- By Robert on 06-30-19
By: David McGowan
-
Farewell Yellow Brick Road
- Memories of My Life on Tour
- By: Elton John, David Furnish - foreword
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Vikas Adam, Daniel Henning, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Farewell Yellow Brick Road is a celebration of Elton John's record-breaking, globe-spanning farewell tour—from Allentown to Auckland, from Sydney to San Francisco. Featured concerts include Elton’s dazzling performances at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in November 2022, the finale of which streamed live on Disney+. Fans will be treated to a behind-the-scenes glimpse into every aspect of these spectacular shows, including Elton’s legendary touring wardrobe by Gucci, the set design, official photography, and more.
-
-
A must listen for Elton fans
- By Lou on 10-02-24
By: Elton John, and others
-
Song of the Northwoods
- By: Jessica Huang
- Narrated by: Michele Selene Ang, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Emma Kikue, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a betrayal at work costs Song Kuan her job, she retreats to her friend Lucy’s idyllic family cabin on a lake in Minnesota to lick her wounds. She devotes herself to recording Ice Cold Cases, a true-crime podcast that she and Lucy cohost with the gleeful energy of obsessed fans—until an anonymous tip about a missing-person case disrupts their equilibrium. Then Lucy disappears, leaving Song alone in an unfriendly and unfamiliar town where locals don’t take kindly to strangers asking questions.
-
-
Asians in MN! I loved it. The vivid sounds of Northern Minnesota totally took me there, and I was hooked into the mystery.
- By Sheila Morris on 04-26-22
By: Jessica Huang
-
Coreyography
- By: Corey Feldman
- Narrated by: Corey Feldman
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this brave and moving memoir, Corey Feldman is revealing the truth about what his life was like behind the scenes: His is a past that included physical, drug, and sexual abuse, a dysfunctional family from which he was emancipated at age fifteen, three high-profile arrests for drug possession, a nine-month stint in rehab, and a long, slow crawl back to the top of the box office.
-
-
Didn't like the Two Coreys, but liked this.
- By ricketsj on 04-29-14
By: Corey Feldman
-
Sorry for Your Loss
- By: Michael Cruz Kayne
- Length: 1 hr and 23 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sidesplitting, heartrending look at life—and death. This powerfully personal production, recorded live from the Minetta Lane Theatre, cuts through the platitudes, directly reaching out to anyone who has ever experienced loss—or will. So...everyone.
-
-
A Must Listen for the Grieving
- By Chris on 09-25-23
-
A Streetcar Named Desire
- By: Tennessee Williams
- Narrated by: Carla Gugino, Audra McDonald
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With Emmy, Grammy, and six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Blanche DuBois alongside Carla Gugino as Stella, O’Hara takes a fresh and visceral look at the emotionally charged relationship between these two iconic sisters. Haunted by her past, Blanche seeks refuge with Stella and Stanley (Ariel Shafir) in New Orleans, where she wrestles with the nature of her sister’s husband, her sister’s denial, and her own unraveling mind.
-
-
Classic With Fresh Insight
- By Talia Shafir on 12-04-20
What listeners say about Tosca
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- T. Angell
- 03-12-16
Excellent introduction to Tosca
I thought I was just sitting down for an IPA at Cassell's in Los Angeles one afternoon, but wound up getting in a conversation with the bartender and a regular, who in about an hour taught me a lot of things I didn't know about jazz and opera (I'm a newbie at both). I had been studying Tosca as part of my one-per-month goal for 2016, and as I was leaving the bartender wrote down Thomson Smillie's name and recommended this recording. It is as good as he said, and I just bought the Smillie lecture for L'elisir d'amore for my next opera.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Essam
- 02-23-15
Excellent presentation as usual
As expected from this series by r Smiley , excellent explanation and excerpts giving an overall superb Tosca explanation .
A background of Puccini's style and works is represented as well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Aaron
- 03-21-18
A fine introduction
This is my first listen to any of Smillie’s guides to opera, and I am delighted to find how excellent it is. You are given, in economical fashion, a sense of the opera’s historical context, its dramatic elements, and its musical characteristics. The excerpts of Puccini’s work perfectly punctuate the overview, whetting your taste for the full musical experience.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful