Spanning 400 years of musical drama, Eyewitness Companions: Opera is your guide to the musical world. Explore operas and composers from the late Renaissance on, including such classical masters as Verdi, Puccini, and Bizet. Eyewitness Companions: Opera is the complete visual guidebook to the great operas, their composers and performance history. Eyewitness Companions: Opera includes more than 160 operas by 66 composers around the world. This richly illustrated eBook includes act-by-act plot synopses and storyline highlights, plus detailed profiles cover composers, Librettists, singers, and more.

Addressing seven languages, this definitive visual guide explores 400 years of music drama, from late-Renaissance Italy to the modern day; presents synopses of 160 operas from around the world; and discusses the lives of composers, from Monteverdi to Adams.

Introduces some of the instruments used in classical music, including the violin, trumpet, and flute, as well as early instruments.

This title covers all of the key movements in Western art history, from Classicism to conceptual art - and profiles more than 780 of the world''s greatest artists. Specially commissioned illustrations and photographs, written by experts in each field, using the award winning design of the Eyewitness Travel Guides, Eyewitness Companions are the ultimate visual handbook to a wide range of subjects! Text previously published in ART: A Field Guide

Not just another film guide–this is a visual road map to the best cinema has to offer. A comprehensive, fun to browse, and easy-to-use source for everything you need to know about movies and the people behind them. From Hollywood to Bollywood, the unique approach will explore every aspect of film and provide pointers on how to watch and understand films of different types, styles, and periods.Covers the history of film, from celluloid to the virtual world of digital FXProfiles the most important historical and contemporary directors, actors, producers, studios, and moreHighlights the top 100 “cornerstone movies” and contains an extensive trivia sectionDetails the principles behind film making styles, from sci-fi to romantic comedy

Explore the world''s greatest buildings! Architecture is filled with amazing illustrations and photographs that take you to the heart of the world''s landmark buildings. Get the opportunity to look beyond the facade. Examine materials and technology that shape buildings, and identify thekey elements and decorative features of each architectural style. This is the best definitive visual guide on architecture; it covers 5,000 years of architectural design, style, and construction from airports to ziggurats. Dissects architectural wonders inside and out Includes palaces, great temples, cathedrals and towering modern skyscrapers

The full story of human endeavor - complete with its dramas, wars, schemes, discoveries, and personalities - is laid out before you in this illustrated guide to the history of our world. Who were the Mongols, the Maya, or Isis? How far did the Roman or the British empire stretch? Why did apartheid or Communism begin, and what were the issues in the Vietnam War? Eyewitness Companion: World History is your convenient reference, answering all your questions. But it also tells you why events happen and explain key issues. Its timelines trace events as they happen, from the appearance of the first humans in Africa to first civilizations and then on to recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the space race. It succinctly explains how one event led to another and sums up topics that include ancient Egypt, the Romans, the Renaissance, World Wars I and II, slavery and empire, and Communist China. Dotted throughout this comprehensive volume are sumptuous images that reveal historical world treasures, such as the 16,000-year old cave paintings at Lascaux, Machu Picchu, and the Taj Mahal. With wide coverage of the world's civilizations, events, ideas, and discoveries, Eyewitness Companion: World History is both an essential reference and a fascinating read.

Everything you want to know about the world’s religions: from beliefs and ceremonies to gods and sacred texts From Hinduism to Zoroastrianism take an in-depth look at all the major global religions, past and present. Discover how each religion started, exploring their origins and history, from the moment of its founding to its spread across the world today. Find out all about the Gods and prophets from a comprehensive who’s who profiling deities and holy figures of each faith. Plus learn about the religious practices and traditions of each belief system, from day-to-day devotions to key events in the religious calendar. An exciting addition to Eyewitness Companions; the visual reference series covering favourite hobbies and pastimes from Whisky and Opera to Horse Riding.

Covering not only the history of Western thought, but also the traditions of Eastern philosophy and schools of thought from the Indian subcontinent, Eyewitness Companions: Philosophy combines philosophical analysis with historical and biographical information to explain and explore the major issues, theories, and problems at the heart of all philosophies. Eyewitness Companions: Philosophy combines metaphysics, epistemology, logic, the philosophy of religion, andethics Introduces the metaphors, analogies, and stories philosophers use to explain theories.

Written by a well-known authority, this book consists of 175 entries that set some of the most popular operas within the context of their composer's career, outline the plot, discuss the music, and more.