Books by Geoffrey Edwards

A celebration of 2000 years of Christianity, this history starts with the birth of Jesus and the Christian religion as it developed through many cultures. Setting each period in its historical, political and philosophical context, the book looks past the millennium and anticipates the future.

Synopsis coming soon.......

New in paperback! This book comes at a time when opera-lovers, singers, directors, and critics alike are taking a new look at the dramatic soprano heroines created by Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, endeavoring to delve beyond inherited scholarly interpretation and gain a richer understanding of these compelling female characters. Artistically limited by the bel canto musical tradition popular at the time, Verdi launched a new style dramma per musica which also demanded a new soprano archetype. This book illustrates the musical evolution of the Verdi and Puccini soprano while illuminating the dramatic scope and power of these great heroines. Avoiding critical reductionism, Verdi and Puccini Heroines provides an unprecedented and probing discussion of how these great soprano roles were conceived and executed. Accordingly, the authors take a three-dimensional look at these heroines, examining seven operas: Il Trovatore, La Forza del Destino, Aida, La Boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot. The chapters, which are fully self-contained analyses, contain translations, illustrative musical examples, supplementary notes, and references to each opera's literary sources. The musical analysis, while thorough, is descriptive and accessible to all levels of readers.

One of the most significant developments in 19th-century Italian opera was the genesis of the Verdi baritone. This book argues that the composer's baritone characters embody "a quintessential humanity, expressing needs and temptations, confusions and understandings, griefs and joys that transcend the particulars of time and place."

The purpose of this revised and extended book is to try to explain how the policies of the Community are meant to achieve its primary objectives. A short history of the foundation and major events are included and the formal institutions and the actual decision-making processes are explained.