Presents a comprehensive guide to some of the most popular operas from the classic period to the present; and explores the careers of the great composers as wel

Provides biographical sketches for nearly 850 composers along with articles on approximately 2,000 works.

An expertly-written guide that is also extremely readable and accessible.

Although many opera dictionaries and encyclopedias are available, very few are devoted exclusively to operas in a single language. In this revised and expanded

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