Polish by birth, Fryderyk Chopin made his name in post-Revolutionary Paris and is often depicted as the archetypal Romantic artist–blessed with extraordinary talent but consumed by the flame of genius, tormented by intense and tempestuous relationships and doomed to an early death. But how much of this story is based on fact? This account of Chopin’s life and times separates myth and reality and, illustrated with numerous musical examples, takes us from his youthful beginnings as ‘a second Mozart’ to the darkness and light of his life and the brilliance of his work.

The music of Bohemian composer Antonín Dvořák is suffused with natural nobility, fluency and freshness, and embodies the spirit of his native land. This revealing biography portrays Dvořák as a complex and wide-ranging composer, and explores the creation and performance of his music as well as its reception on both sides of the Atlantic, tracing his art in all its richness and variety.

La Traviata owes its enduring popularity to a superb story of young love and fatal sacrifice, set to music by Italy’s master melodist at the peak of his powers. Interest and poignancy are added by the fact that this is a true story - the baritone ‘heavy’ is Alexander Dumas who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo. But it is the central figure, the heroine Violetta, the archetypal ‘whore with the heart of gold’ who dominates the piece. It is her opera and we love her for it.

Madama Butterfly runs the gamut of operatic emotions. The title heroine has a fragility wonderfully expressed in her entry music, deep sexual instincts as shown in the love duet, and immense tragic stature in her last hours. The fate of Madama Butterfly - married to an American sailor and then abandoned - engages our emotions to a degree equaled by few other opera heroines. The oriental setting and the exquisite orchestral and choral writings are treasured bonuses.

Claude Debussy is regarded by many as the quintessential French composer, with music that invited both warm applause and frosty criticism in his day. While our ears no longer hear him as controversial, his works heralded the dawn of an artistic period founded on innovation and experiment, and a desire to break with the past in search of new expressive means. With never a dull moment, Debussy went from being a musical misfit at the Paris Conservatoire to bohemian life amongst the Symbolist poets and some scandalous love affairs.

アルクの月刊誌『English Journal』2015～2020年に掲載されたインタビューから、大物ミュージシャンのインタビューを選りすぐってオーディオブック化。

長めの英文を聞いた後に、内容やシチュエーションに関する問いと、4つの解答選択肢がいずれも日本語で出題される問題です。英文を聴きながら、ロジックやストーリーを理解し、シチュエーションを想像しましょう。

An idiom is a group of words with a special meaning of its own that is not clear from the meanings of the individual words. Idioms such as "think out of the box" and "a long shot" are used extensively in English in e-mail, newspapers, and conversations. When you don't understand idioms, you can feel left out of a conversation or miss the point of a story. This audiobook focuses on 100 frequently used idioms.

Many opera-lovers would name The Marriage of Figaro as their favorite opera. It appeals to the most intellectual listener, but also to music-lovers seeking great melodies and ensembles (while it remains accessible through its fascinating plot and memorable characters) and to those seeking only entertainment. One of three operas by Mozart to libretti by Lorenzo da Ponte, it represents one of the pinnacles not just of operatic but of human achievement.

After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises. The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles.

英長文一つを聞いた後に、2?3の問いが日本語で出題される問題です。長文の理解力が試されます。中・上級編です。

■人気書籍、アルク「キクタンTOEIC Test Score990」の例文音声 本コンテンツには、書籍に収録の全1,120単語を使った例文が収録されています。書籍と合わせて学習すると学習効果が高まります。 ■TOEICに出る単語・熟語を厳選 制作にあたっては、まずTOEICに出題される英単語から成る膨大なデータベースを構築。それを分析することにより、990点を獲得するために必要な単語をセレクト。公式問題集や競合商品も分析し、「本当にTOEICに必要な語彙」だけを厳選しています。 ■多様なライフスタイルに合わせて取り組める学習モード 現代人のライフスタイルは多様です。1回の学習語彙が16語に設定されているので、1日最低2分から学習に取り組むことが可能です。スキマ時間を有効に活用して、いつでもどこでも手軽にできる英単語学習を実現しました。 ◆対象レベル◆・英語初級以上 ・英検準1級/TOEIC(R)スコア730点程度 から ※本商品にテキスト情報は含まれておりません。

新潮社のオフィシャル読書会で、名作を一緒に読みませんか？　 現代文学の珠玉の名作や話題の海外文学、なかなか読む機会のなかった古典まで―—。新潮社の倉庫をリニューアルしたレクチャースペース〈soko〉では、毎回バラエティ豊かな新潮社の棚の中から課題図書を選び、その本の愛読者であるゲストをお呼びして公開読書会を開催しています。あなたもaudibleで参加してみませんか？ 第四回の課題図書は、マーガレット・ミッチェルの『風と共に去りぬ』（新潮文庫）を取り上げます。本作はアメリカ南部の大農園に生まれたスカーレット・オハラが、恋や結婚や南北戦争に翻弄されながらも、波瀾万丈の人生（いわば女の一生フルコース！）をたくましく生きる姿を描いた世界的ベストセラーです。今回は今年刊行されたばかりの、鴻巣友紀子さんによる新訳を読みます。“一緒に読む人”は、アメリカ文学好きとして知られ、ユニークかつユーモア溢れる読み解き方にかけては右に出る者がいない、作家の柚木麻子さんです。長年『風と共に去りぬ』を愛読してきた柚木さんですが、新訳についてこう語ります。「新しいスカーレットはさらにパワフルでさらに孤独だ。それでも彼女は教えてくれる。『最低の今日』をやりぬく方法を」。そして...

220万人が実践した「つぶやき練習法」で、職場で使える英会話力がしっかり身に付く！

First published in 1843, it tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean and unpleasant man who dislikes people generally and Christmas especially. One Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come and given a glimpse of the many homes and lives which Scrooge has touched in his wretched life to date. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.