Music: Opera

An invaluable guide for both casual opera fans and afficionados, this volume contains act-by-act descriptions of operatic works ranging from the early seventeenth century masterworks of Monteverdi and Purcell to the modern classics of Menotti and Britten. Written in a lively anecdotal style, entries include character descriptions, historical background, and much more.

With detailed plots and background material for more than 300 operas, this is the most complete general guide available.

Full, penetrating analysis, guide to five great operas: Don Giovanni, Entführung aus dem Serail, Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan Tutte, and Die Zauberflöte. 343 musical illus.

Profiles of great black American female singers whose careers broke color barriers, such as Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price.

Written by leading scholars in opera studies today, this Companion offers a wide-ranging guide to a rapidly expanding field of study and new ways of thinking about a rich and intriguing art form, placing opera back at the centre of our understanding of Western culture over the past 400 years.

Conversations with ten prominent African-American operatic artists.

Written by the foremost British Handel scholar, these essays encompass a variety of opera-related subjects, including shorter pieces for "The Listener" and substantial surveys, such as "Shakespeare in the Opera House" and "Beethoven and Opera."

In First Nights at the Opera,the renowned music scholar Thomas Kelly narrates the social history of European opera during its golden age by taking us behind the scenes at the premiere performances of five extraordinary and influential operas.

Resource for the young operatic singer, this annotated guide brings together many sources to start the journey toward powerful, informed performance.