"The fourth edition incorporates new scholarship that traces the most important developments in the evolution of musical drama. After surveying anticipations of

“The best single volume ever written on the subject, such is its range, authority, and readability.”—Times Literary Supplement Why has opera transfixed an

Provides synopses of forty-seven operas, a history of the opera, and a glossary of operatic terms.

Opera is the fastest growing of all the performing arts, attracting audiences of all ages who are enthralled by the gorgeous music, vivid drama, and magnificent

"A brilliant overview of the history of French opera, scrupulously researched and eminently readable. The people, the politics, the scandalsûinformative and en