- Gruber, Clemens M. Opern-Uraufführungen. Ein internationales Verzeichnis
von der Renaissance bis zur Gegenwart.Vienna: Gesellschaft für Musiktheater,
1978. 3v. ISBN 3-85202-049-2. ML128 .O4 G88.
A list of opera premieres by about 1,700 composers, with basic facts about
those events. Indexed by opera title and by city.
36.Herders Musiklexikon: Oper, Operette, Musical.Ed. Gerhard Hellwig. 4th ed.
Vienna: Herder, 1976. 370p. ISBN 3-451-16357-8. ML102 .O6 H5.
Based on the 1962 Das grosse Buch der Musik.Essentially a collection of plots
but includes for each of about 500 works considerable background data and
names of arias or songs (in German translation, leading to quaint titles like
“Good night mein Jemand” from Music Man). A first-line index gives approx-
imately 800 songs and arias in original tongues. Also biographical and term
entries and an index of composers and titles. - Kloiber, Rudolf. Handbuch der Oper.9th ed. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1978. 2v.
ISBN 3-761-904229; 3-761-804237. MT95 .K66.
Detailed consideration of 180 operas in the current repertoire (with a German
slant). Facts for each work: plot, instrumentation, duration (not in every case, and
occasionally dubious), premiere date, publication, historical background, and
voice types used. Table of roles by voice type—including such impressionistic
categories as soubrette, dramatic coloratura, lyric mezzo-soprano, and dramatic
alto. Also a list of arias by those voice types. Indexed by composer and title. - Krause, Ernst. Oper A–Z: Ein Opernführer. 3rd ed. Leipzig: VEB Deutscher
Verlag für Musik, 1978. 704p. MT95 .K91.
Along with plots, presents useful information about each work: instrumenta-
tion, duration of each act, genesis, and performance history. Many of the
operas are outside the usual repertoire, by such composers as Jan Cikker, Fritz
Geissler, Jakov Gotovac, and Udo Zimmermann. Title and composer index.
39.La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera. Ed. Giorgio Bagnoli. Trans. Graham
Fawcett. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. 398p. ISBN 0-671-87042-4.
ML102 .O6 L14.
Originally published as Opera(Milan: Mondadori, 1993). Despite its name,
this routine handbook has nothing to do with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. It
gives program notes on 468 operas, plus entries for performers, composers,
and librettists. Good color illustrations; no index. - Leopold, Silke, and Robert Maschka. Who’s Who in der Oper.Kassel: Bären-
reiter, 1997. 380p. ISBN 3-7618-1268-X. ML102 .O6 L46.
A convenient index to 800 operatic characters, with considerable detail on
their roles and arias. Index of other characters named in those entries. - Lessing, Gotthold E. Handbuch des Opern-Repertoires. Rev. ed. London:
Boosey & Hawkes, 1952. xv, 393p. ML102 .O6 L65.
A useful compilation of facts about 392 operas, giving for each the cast, dura-
tion of each act, instrumentation, premiere data, and editions.
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias 9