Not everyone learning Italian likes ‘opera lirica’, but a lot of us do, so when things were quiet during the pandemic we asked one of our ebook writers to have a go at creating ‘easy reader’ ebooks based on famous Italian operas.
The idea was to create texts (plus exercises, online audio, etc.) that would function as both Italian reading/listening practice, but also to encourage learners to try the actual opera, in the original Italian!
The level of the ebooks is low-ish, mostly around intermediate. The ‘level’ of the actual operas, which you can mostly find online, is clearly a lot harder. Normal Italian can be hard to understand. Sung Italian, from a hundred or more years ago, perhaps with lots of people singing at the same time, can be a real challenge!
Our ebooks make that easier. Before we started publishing them, I’d barely watched/listened to an opera in my whole life, but as part of the marketing process I sought them out online and listened to each, all the way through. My wife and I even went to a couple last year.
Knowing the plot beforehand helps, as does familiarity with the music. It’s not entirely unlike listening to an album for the first time (back in the days when such things were common). Often you’d get more out of it the second or third time you heard it, and sometimes you can relisten again and again.
Anyway, take a look at what we have in the Opera section of our catalog, or follow the links below.
There are NINE actual operas, or rather our simplified retelling of them:
Nabucco (A2/B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Aida (A2/B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Il barbiere di Siviglia (B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Tosca (B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
La Bohème (B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
La traviata (B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Madama Butterfly (B1) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Turandot (B1/B2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Rigoletto (B1/B2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi/Kindle)
Plus there’s one ‘normal’ easy reader, so a story about opera rather than the story of an opera, Verdi e il Va’ pensiero (B2) £9.99 Download FREE sample (.pdf, .epub, .mobi)
How to get your 33% discount??
You need to use this week’s coupon code, which is: OperaEasyReaders-33%
1.) Add your selection of ‘opera’ ebooks to your cart;
2.) Go to your cart and paste in the coupon code, OperaEasyReaders-33%, then press the Apply coupon button;
3.) SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK THE CART TOTAL before proceeding with payment. The 33% discount is applied to the CART TOTAL, not to the individual ebooks;
4.) You can use coupon code OperaEasyReaders-33% as often as you wish until the offer ends (this time next week), so if you’re unsure, try buying just one title. That way you can see how the buying/downloading process works.
Not interested in Opera?
Browse our catalog to see other categories, or find more ebooks, organised by level:
A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2
How do I access my ebook?
When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?
P.S.
Don’t forget to read/listen to todday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news.
These regular text + audio bulletins are a fantastic, FREE way to consolidate the grammar and vocabulary you’ve studied, as well as being fun and motivating!
To get all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news emailed to you each week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, subscribe (they really are FREE) by entering your email address on this page and clicking the confirmation link that will be sent to you.
Or take a look at their website and get started on improving your Italian immediately!
