Operatic Books

In order to go beyond the scope of this database, it is often necessary to do a little research. Included on this page is a bibliography of good operatic reference books that can help you find what you are looking for in more depth. The best resources are shown by the that accompanies them. This is by no means a complete list. Rather, it's just what I happen to own and/or use.

You can find all these books on Amazon.com although some of them are out-of-print. Amazon.com can find copies of out-of-print books for you or you can search used book stores until they show up. Most college music libraries also have these books on their shelves.

• Budden, Julian, The Operas of Verdi, Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3, Oxford University Press, New York, 1992. Wonderful three-volume set that goes into depth on Verdi and every single one of his operas. Definitely worth having!

• Coffin, Berton, Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias, Scarecrow Press, 1982. Lots of phonetic transcriptions for arias. Good if you don't know a particular language too well.

• Coffin, Berton, Singer's Repertoire, Lyric and Dramatic Tenor, Baritone and Bass, Coloratura Soprano, Lyric Soprano, and Dramatic Soprano, Mezzo-soprano and Contralto, Scarecrow Press, 1960. If you are wondering what to sing, one of these book can tell you. Each includes lists of repertoire for the singer arranged by language and by type of song or aria. These are definitely worth having!

• The Earl of Harewood and Antony Peattie, The New Kobbé's Opera Book, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1997. The best book for opera summaries and basic information on operas. Includes around 500 operas.

• Ewen, David, The New Encyclopedia of the Opera, Hill and Wang, New York, 1971. Great for looking up singers, librettists, composers, and opera terminology.

• Forman, Sir Denis, A Night at the Opera, The Modern Library, New York, 1994. Very funny opera synopsis book of the 83 most recorded operas.

• Grout, Donald Jay, A Short History of Opera, Columbia University Press, New York, 1988. Best opera history book available.

• MacMurray, Jessica M., The Book of 101 Opera Librettos, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 1996. Lots of libretti with poetic translations. Sometimes, however, there are errors.

• Mann, William, The Operas of Mozart, Cassel, London, 1976. By far the best book on Mozart's operas out there. Wonderful, comprehensive, and unfortunately out-of-print.

• Mann, William, Richard Strauss : a critical study of the operas, Cassel, London, 1964. Good book on Strauss and his operas. However, it's a little overly analytical for many people. Not quite as good as his Mozart operas book.

• Osborne, Charles, The Bel Canto Operas, Trafalgar Square Publishing, Vermont, 1995. Haven't read it but Osborne writes well so it's probably good.

• Osborne, Charles, The Complete Operas of Mozart, Trafalgar Square Publishing, Vermont, 1988. Similar to the William Mann book above on Mozart but not quite as good. Still, it's comprehensive and, best of all, in print.

• Osborne, Charles, The Complete Operas of Puccini, Trafalgar Square Publishing, Vermont, 1983. Haven't read it.

• Osborne, Charles, The Complete Operas of Richard Strauss, Trafalgar Square Publishing, Vermont, 1988. Out of print but possibly the best book on Strauss operas out there. Yes, I have read this one!

• Osborne, Charles, The Complete Operas of Verdi, Trafalgar Square Publishing, Vermont, 1988. Haven't read it.

• Osborne, Charles, The Complete Operas of Richard Wagner, Trafalgar Square Publishing, Vermont, 1993. Haven't read it.

• Pogue, David and Scott Speck, Opera for Dummies. IDG Publishing, 1997. A great introduction to opera, especially if you don't know opera jargon. It takes you through the world of opera step by step, explaining everything along the way. Good if you are interested in opera and you don't know anything about it.

• Sadie, Stanley, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Grove's Dictionaries, Inc, 1998. The opera book with EVERYTHING. This 4-volume, 5400 page set of opera references contains information on almost every opera written before 1992. A must for any serious operaphiliac.

• Simon, Henry, 100 Great Operas and their Stories, Doubleday, New York, 1989. Good summaries of the most popular operas.

• Barber, David, When the Fat Lady Sings : Opera History As It Ought to Be Taught, Sound and Vision Publishing, Ltd, Toronto, 1990. Wonderfully funny and informative book that's a lot more fun to read than Grout, although less comprehensive. However, it includes some info that Grout definitely does not cover!

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