Foreword
What a superb undertaking! When one considers the endless ramifications of the
art of opera, it becomes clear that a critical bibliography of opera must be a
frightening prospect to anyone rash enough to venture upon it. Yet there is a cry-
ing need for such a work. Despite the growing body of serious musicological
work on opera, there is probably no other field of music so rife with amateurish
popularizers and pseudoscholarship. And there is none so full of booby traps for
the humble music lover in search of hard facts. When such a standard guide as
Kobbé can pass through edition after edition with egregious errors left uncor-
rected and at least one of its descriptive analyses translated word for word from a
familiar French dictionary of opera, it is clear that the layperson needs guidance.
And all of us, including professionals, are necessarily laypersons in some of the
many aspects of operatic history or performance.
Guy Marco, like all good scholars, invites additions, corrections, and com-
ments from his readers. They will be forthcoming. For perfection is even more of
a dream in this field than in many others. Donald Grout’s bibliography for his
Short History of Operalists some 3,900 items. Marco does more than list. He
evaluates, comments, and joins the fray, so to speak, with 2,833 titles. As one edi-
tion follows another, the field grows not only larger, but richer. May it continue to
expand and refine and put us all into Marco’s debt.
Edward O. D. Downesxiii