books of synopses, in English, French, German, and Danish. Cites 2,775
operas by 998 composers.Books of Plots
- Czech, Stan. Das Operettenbuch: Ein Führer durch die Operetten und Sing-
spiele der deutschen Bühnen.4th ed. Stuttgart: Muth, 1960. 424p. MT95 .C93.
Detailed synopses of about 125 light operas that have held the German stage.
In addition to familiar composers like Kálman and Lehár, we find the works of
such lesser-known persons as Bromme, Burkhard, Dellinger, Dostal, Jarno,
Meisel, Nick, Raymond, and Vetterling. Only one American composition is
included: Küss mich Kätchen (yes, all titles and arias are in German only). A
useful feature is the citation of films made of each operetta, with dates and
casts. There are also brief performance histories and comments. No indexes. - Davidson, Gladys. The Barnes Book of the Opera. New York: Barnes, 1962.
890p. MT95 .D2 B4.
Long, chatty stories; useful for coverage of unusual works. There are 22 Rus-
sian operas, as well as representations by Bantock, Benedict, Benjamin, Bliss,
Boughton, Bush, Holbrooke, Lloyd, Philpot, Rankl, and Smyth. - Fellner, Rudolph. Opera Themes and Plots.New York: Simon & Schuster,
- xii, 354p. MT95 .F319.
A valuable guide to plots of the standard operas, because the stories are keyed
to many brief musical examples (e.g., 34 extracts from Un ballo in maschera).
Covers 32 operas in that manner, with a list of the arias and vocal numbers in
the index. - Jacobs, Arthur, and Stanley Sadie. Great Opera Classics. New York: Gram-
ercy, distributed by Crown, 1987. 563p. ISBN 0-517-64108-9. MT95 .J32.
A book of many names, originally published as the Pan Book of Opera(Lon-
don: Pan Books, 1964), then as Limelight Book of Opera(New York: Lime-
light, 1985), which was a revision of Great Operas in Synopsis(1964); also a
manifestation as Opera: A Modern Guide. It offers plots and program notes
for 87 operas by 41 composers. Commentary is extensive and valuable. With a
bibliography but no index. - Kobbé, Gustave. The New Kobbé’s Complete Opera Book. 9th ed. Ed. and
rev. the Earl of Harewood. New York: Putnam, 1976. xvii, 1,694p. ISBN 399-
11633-8. MT95 .K52.
The title of this popular book has varied considerably over its publishing his-
tory, which began in 1919. It gives long summaries of about 220 standards,
with historical notes and a name and title index. The 1989 version has pictures
but fewer plots: Kobbe’s Illustrated Opera Book: Twenty-six of the World’s
Favorite Operas.A new edition was announced in 1999. - Lubbock, Mark Hugh. The Complete Book of Light Opera.With an Ameri-
can section by David Ewen. London: Putnam; New York: Appleton-Century-
Crofts, 1962. xviii, 952p. MT95 .L85.
48 Opera