of any interest, and several seem to belong in some other list (e.g., Pastor’s His-
tory of the Popes). The arrangement, alphabetical by author, is fine for looking
up a known book but unhelpful in discovering what has been written on a
topic or composer.- Sadie, Stanley. History of Opera. The New Grove Handbooks in Music. New
York: Norton, 1990. xii, 485p. ISBN 0-393-02810-0. ML1700 .H57.
A useful gathering of material from NG,most of it revised and organized into
a coherent presentation. Authors include Thomas Walker (Italy), Peter
Branscombe (Germany and Austria), James R. Anthony (France), Curtis Price
(England), Jack Sage (Spain), Manfred Boetzkes (design), and Roger Savage
(production). Without footnotes but with a long, classified bibliography of
more than 1,000 titles. A strong glossary gives extended information on about
250 terms. Expansive index. - Jellinek, George. History through the Opera Glass: From the Rise of Caesar to
the Fall of Napoleon. London: Kahn & Averill, 1994. x, 405p. ISBN 1-8710-
8247-1. ML2100 .J44.
A fascinating narrative history of the world, which cites operas that pertain to
each time and place. Then a chronology of events and operas dealing with
them, from 14 B.C. to 1993. (What were three operas set in the 14th century?)
Bibliography of about 100 entries; index of names, titles, and topics. - Lindenberger, Herbert Samuel. Opera in History: From Monteverdi to Cage.
Stanford, Calif.: Stanford U.P., 1998. xi, 364p. ISBN 0-8047-3104-1. ML1700
.L54.
An interesting ramble through numerous topics, although the endeavor to pre-
sent opera as a sort of paradigmatic model of its times appears to dissolve en
route. The author’s knowledge and insights are pervasive. He suggests, for
example, that acting in opera is nothing but a generalized expression of affect,
having no connection to the character or situation: the aria is a musical pose.
About the Ring,he observes that the topics concerned are not mythic themes
but contemporary issues (incest, adultery, rebellion versus authority); the Ring
actually “helped create a mid–19th century for us” by giving us a framework
for rethinking the period. There is a good section on Moses und Aron,and on
Mahaggony,works that Lindenberger takes as seriously as the Ring,and a fine
account of John Cage’s Europeras,which he takes even more seriously, won-
dering if they “put the aesthetic of opera in question.” A 400-item bibliogra-
phy, strong index. - Bokina, John. Opera and Politics: From Monteverdi to Henze. New Haven,
Conn.: Yale U.P., 1997. xiv, 240p. ISBN 0-300-06935-9. ML1700 .B74.
Opera seen as the medium “for the recording of the conscious and uncon-
scious, explicit and implicit, historiography of society.” It achieves this role
through its libretti (music is not a concern here), which deal with issues and
ideas of the day. Fidelio,for example, is about “republican virtue” and Elektra
is about the new psychology. Other themes and libretti are matched as well.
18 Opera