{"product_id":"the-ballad-of-john-latouche-an-american-lyricists-life-and-work-9780190458294","title":"The Ballad of John Latouche: An American Lyricist's Life and Work","description":"Born into a poor Virginian family, John Treville Latouche (1914-56), in his short life, made a profound mark on America's musical theater as a lyricist, book writer, and librettist. The wit and skill of his lyrics elicited comparisons with the likes of Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, and Cole\u003cbr\u003ePorter, but he had too, noted Stephen Sondheim, a large vision of what musical theater could be, and he proved especially venturesome in helping to develop a lyric theater that innovatively combined music, word, dance, and costume and set design. Many of his pieces, even if not commonly known\u003cbr\u003etoday, remain high points in the history of American musical theater. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA great American genius in the words of Duke Ellington, Latouche initially came to wide public attention in his early twenties with his cantata for soloist and chorus, \u003cem\u003e Ballad for Americans\u003c\/em\u003e (1939), with music by Earl Robinson-a work that swept the nation during the Second World War. Other\u003cbr\u003emilestones in his career included the all-black musical fable, \u003cem\u003eCabin in the Sky \u003c\/em\u003e(1940), with Vernon Duke; an interracial updating of John Gay's classic, \u003cem\u003eThe Beggar's Opera, as Beggar's Holiday \u003c\/em\u003e(1946), with Duke Ellington; two acclaimed Broadway operas with Jerome Moross: \u003cem\u003e Ballet Ballads\u003c\/em\u003e (1948) and\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Golden Apple\u003c\/em\u003e (1954); one of the most enduring operas in the American canon, \u003cem\u003eThe Ballad of Baby Doe \u003c\/em\u003e(1956), with Douglas Moore; and the operetta \u003cem\u003eCandide\u003c\/em\u003e (1956), with Leonard Bernstein and Lillian Hellman. Extremely versatile, he also wrote cabaret songs, participated in documentary and\u003cbr\u003eavant-garde film, translated poetry, adapted plays, and much else. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMeanwhile, as one of Manhattan's most celebrated raconteurs and hosts, he developed a wide range of friends in the arts, including, to name only a few, Paul and Jane Bowles (whom he introduced to each other), Yul Brynner, John Cage, Jack Kerouac, Frederick Kiesler, Carson McCullers, Frank O'Hara, \u003cbr\u003eDawn Powell, Ned Rorem, Virgil Thomson, Gore Vidal, and Tennessee Williams-a dazzling constellation of diverse artists working in sundry fields, all attracted to Latouche's brilliance and joie de vivre, not to mention his support for their work. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book draws widely on archival collections both at home and abroad, including Latouche's diaries and the papers of Bernstein, Ellington, Moore, Moross, and many others, to tell for the first time, the story of this fascinating man and his work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Howard Pollack\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/02\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 590\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.50w x 1.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780190458294\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHoward Pollack is John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music at the University of Houston, where he has taught since 1987. He is the author of six books, including biographies of Walter Piston, John Alden Carpenter, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, and Marc Blitzstein. He has received three Deems Taylor Awards and an ARSC Award for Excellence for his publications as well as two Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities among other grants and fellowships. Pollack's articles and reviews have appeared in numerous journals and encyclopedias. He also has lectured at colleges and arts organizations in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Mexico, and across the United States, and has appeared in both German and American film documentaries and on such American radio shows as Morning Edition, All Things Considered, the Voice of America, and Fresh Air as well as on Australian, British, German, and New Zealand radio.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":40171860557939,"sku":"9.78019E+12","price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_809cb088-49d3-48a4-9386-3aae8760947e.jpg?v=1655211981","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/the-ballad-of-john-latouche-an-american-lyricists-life-and-work-9780190458294","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}