Opera: A Visual History

Opera is the most extravagant, most expensive, and most emotionally overwhelming of all the performing arts — a form that combines music, drama, spectacle, and the human voice at its most extreme into an experience that its devotees regard as unequalled by anything else available to human beings. DK’s Opera: A Visual History is the comprehensive guide to four centuries of this extraordinary art form, from Monteverdi’s earliest experiments through the golden age of Verdi and Wagner to the contemporary productions redefining what opera can be.

Every major opera receives detailed treatment: synopsis, musical analysis, historical context, and information about landmark productions and legendary performances. Profiles of the great composers, conductors, directors, and singers are illustrated with production photographs, original costume and set designs, and manuscript images that make the visual history of opera as vivid as the music.

The ultimate guide for existing opera lovers — and the most compelling possible invitation to those who have not yet discovered the form. Published by DK.