Tim Carter (2) (1954–)

What Tim Carter doesn't know about Oklahoma! is no ones business. This was a dense but great resource for directors and choreographers of the show as well as dramaturgs. While the reading is challenging in some parts, it is fascinating in its detail and perspective.

Along with Lucy Beckett's "Parsifal", the best of the Cambridge Opera Handbooks -- certainly among those that I've read. My favorite sections are a careful description of the transformation of Beaumarchais' play into the Mozart/da Ponte opera, a solid summary of performance history, and, especially, a strikingly original commentary on why Mozart's version of the Classical style makes it so appropriate for opera buffa. I'm always startled when a "handbook", which I expect to be something of show more an anthology of received opinion, actually presents something novel -- at least novel to me. (Specialists in Mozart are probably shaking their heads at this point.) show less

Well worth it if you're looking for a deep, but not too academic, dive into a greater understanding of what makes 'Figaro' tick.