Bücher der Reihe Cambridge Opera Handbooks

Wagner's Tristan und Isolde has fascinated audiences since its first performance in 1865, its advanced harmonic language marking a defining moment in the evolution of modern music. This accessible handbook - perfect for scholars, students, performers and opera-goers alike - examines the opera's genesis, libretto, music, performance and reception.

Caryl Emerson (a literary specialist) and Robert William Oldani (a music historian) take a comprehensive look at the most famous Russian opera, Modest Musorgsky's Boris Godunov.

Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg is Wagner's only mature comedy, and one of the richest and most profound in the history of music. This book presents an informative and stimulating study of an opera that occupies a particular place in music lovers' affections, yet always has more to reveal. The volume includes a full synopsis, bibliography and three appendices.

Norma is by common consent the finest of the ten operas composed during Vincenzo Bellini's short career. In this 1998 book, Professor Kimbell provides the biographical and cultural context of the opera, examines its artistic qualities and suggests something of the impression Norma has made since it was first produced.

A comprehensive account of Wagner's last, and strangest opera.

Incorporating the findings of the most recent research, this compact and up-to-date guide to Verdi's Falstaff provides a reliable summary of what is currently known about the work. It includes a synopsis of the plot and an account both of Verdi's aims in composing the opera and of how he actually composed it.