This book combines meticulous scholarship with a lightness of touch that will delight the opera-goer.
The fascinating illustrations bring an amusing dimension showing how opera has been staged from its beginnings to modern "deconstructed" productions.
The plots are described by leading authorities on each work, who were asked to contribute to the authoritative 'New Grove Dictionary of Opera'.
The operas are listed in alphabetical order. In addition to a full synopsis of every ploy, there is a cast list and a note of the singers in the original production, as well as information about the origins of the work and its literary and social background. Each contribution concludes with a brief comment on its place in operatic history.
Over 250 operas are described in this book; most have been performed in the major opera houses of the English-speaking world in the last 25 years. A handful of additional works have been selected by Stanley Sadie as having particular interest or merit, or historical significance - operas that lend themselves to CD recording or festival revival.
