2654.Teatral’naia entsiklopediia.Moscow: Sovetskaia Entsiklopediia, 1967. 5v.
PN2035 .T4.
Covers all stage genres in all countries, with emphasis on the Soviet Union.
Each republic has a long article on opera, with details on theaters, chronolo-
gies and casts, and bibliographies. No index.
2655.Ruskii sovetskii teatr. Leningrad: Iskusstvo, 1975. 2v. PN2724 .R874.
Contents pages are in several languages, but the text is in Russian only. There
are descriptive and historical essays on all the theaters of Leningrad (St. Peters-
burg) and Moscow. All performances and casts are given for 1917–1926.
Index of theaters, name index.- Bernandt, Grigorii Borisovich. Slovar’ oper.Moscow: Sovetskii Kompozitor,
- 554p. ML102 .O6 B45.
Includes program notes and premiere details on major operas of 1736–1959, a
chronology of premieres by city, and indexes to composers, librettists, conduc-
tors, ballet masters, stage managers, and other personnel. Arrangement is by
title.
Individual Cities
Moscow (Moskva)
Moscow developed as a major opera center only in the later 19th century, although it
had an opera house as early as 1742. The famous Bol’shoi Teatr opened in 1825,
burned in 1853, and was rebuilt in 1856. It has been the subject of many books in
Russian, of which these two histories are the most informative:
2657.Bol’shoi Teatr SSSR: Opera, balet. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe Muzykal’noe
Izdatel’stvo, 1958. 238p. PN2726 .M62 G52.
An oversized book of color pictures of the building and of scenes from opera
and ballet, with a historical narrative and a bibliography of more than 1,000
entries. No index.- Bocharnikova, Ella. Bol’shoi Teatr: Kratkii istoricheskii ocherk. Moscow:
Moskovskii Rabochii, 1987. 187p. and 48p. of plates. No ISBN. ML1741.8
.M72 G715.
An illustrated gathering of historical essays on the theater. No index.
An annual publication presents accounts of all events, with pictures and personnel
lists: Bol’shoi Teatr SSSR, 1969/70–.ML1741.8 .M7 C5. A useful book in English is
available:
- Pokrovsky, Boris Alexandrovich, and Yuri Nikolayevich Grigorovich. The
Bolshoi: Opera and Ballet at the Greatest Theater in Russia.New York: Mor-
row, 1979. 238p. ISBN 0-6880-3492-6. ML1741.8 .M7 P762.
A large photo book, with historical summary. Includes a repertoire list that
shows only 42 different operas presented since 1842. Only eight composers
were foreigners, and Wagner was never produced. Index of titles. Premieres at
the theater 1917–1980 were listed in Oper heute4.
492 Opera