The story of opera

The Story of Opera is just what its title suggests: a narrative history of opera as an art form. Its central theme is the 400-year experiment in what the sixteenth-century "inventors" of opera originally called il dramma per musica ("drama expressed through music").

Within and around this overarching story, it tells the individual stories of hundreds of remarkable people who have been involved in the experiment - composers, librettists, impresarios, singers, conductors, designers, stage directors, and (by no means least) audiences. It is written for the general reader, as an introduction to opera, but it will also provide longtime opera buffs with fresh insights and new perspectives. It is thoroughly researched, generously illustrated, and authoritative.

The extensive text is organized chronologically, with separate chapters devoted to the great national schools of opera Italian, German, French, and Russian. The final chapter surveys the leading artistic developments that have emerged in the complex opera world of the twentieth century. The illustrations throughout feature notable contemporary productions and performers as well as a wealth of historical images.