Sing Me a Story: The Metropolitan Opera's Book of Opera Stories for Children

Similar in style to Rosenberg's earlier work on ballet, Dance Me a Story , this engaging volume of opera stories is sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera Guild. The text and illustrations exude the glamour, passion and lyricism of opera, from Luciano Pavarotti's playful introduction--the tenor promises to look for the reader in the audience the next time he is on stage--to the last of the 15 vivid synopses which roll along, con brio , in the present tense. Alongside the so-called ABC's-- Aida , La Boheme and Carmen --are less often performed works such as L'Enfant et les Sortileges , Porgy and Bess and The Love for Three Oranges . The author skillfully refers to specific musical passages and uses dialogue drawn from the libretto to link each story to an actual performance. References to staging details, which vary with productions, are a less appropriate choice for inclusion. Although brief accounts in general cannot do justice to the deep emotion and psychological insight of Pagliacci or The Magic Flute , these failings are more than redeemed by Rosenberg's handsomely detailed watercolors, which convey the opulent sensuality of opera at its most sublime. All ages. (Nov.)