Opera: A History in Documents. This item is unavailable.Opera: A History in Documents

This fascinating journey through the history of opera features more than 100 selections, from opera's late Renaissance infancy through modern times.

... a most coherent, elegant, and perceptive survey of four centuries of operatic debate. This volume is a priceless addition to the literature, and the pages of my copy are already dog-eared from constant use. (Music and Letters)

Opera: A History in Documents comes as treasure trove to the fan ... crisp, informative intros to each entry ... The extracts relating to theatres and performance are fascinating ... no true lover of opera can afford to be without this invaluable collection. (Opera Now)

Weiss's book is a Jack Horner's pie full of plums, familiar and unfamiliar, many of them freshly and elegantly translated by Weiss himself ... a valuable and enjoyable book. (Opera)

Weiss is head of the musicology department at John Hopkins, and the anthology that he has compiled makes up a history of opera that is learned, quirky, disjointed, spiced with the unexpected and the diversionary, and sometimes very funny; everything, in fact, that such a collection should be. (Opera)

Excellent compilation ... a rich offering ... for students and intelligent opera lovers, the material on the operas selected will rapidly become indispensable (BBC Music Magazine)