- Eaton, Quaintance. Opera Production: A Handbook.Minneapolis: U. of Min-
nesota Press, 1961–1974. 2v. ISBN 0-8166-0689-7. MT955 .E25.
Detailed production information on some 700 operas and brief notes on
another 150 in a supplement. Gives plot, duration, casting, publisher or other
source of score, and much auxiliary guidance. The most important of the
manuals. - Volbach, Walther R. Problems of Opera Production. 2nd ed. New York:
Archon, 1967. xii, 218p. MT955 .V64.
First edition, 1953. Discussion of translations, staging, conductor, director,
singers, designer, rehearsals, and administration. Review of modern produc-
tions. Minor bibliography, index. - Goldowsky, Boris. Bringing Opera to Life: Operatic Acting and Stage Direc-
tion.New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1968. x, 424p. ISBN 0-13-083105-0.
ML1700 .G738 B7.
Detailed directions for staging various standard operas, with diagrams cover-
ing all contingencies. Special attention to presentation of two arias: Cheru-
bino’s “No so più cosa son” and Leporello’s “Il catalogo è questo.” Index of
operas.
287.National Opera Association Catalog... of Contemporary American Operas.
Ed. Arthur Schoep. New York: National Opera Association, 1976. Looseleaf.
ML128 .C4 N27.
Similar to Eaton (#284) in format but restricted to modern American works;
includes many operas not described in Eaton or the other handbooks in this
section.
288.Opera in Context: Essays on Historical Staging from the Late Renaissance to
the Time of Puccini.Ed. Mark A. Radice. Portland, Ore.: Amadeus, 1998.
410p. ISBN 1-57467-032-8. MT95 O54.
Ten essays, including Malcolm S. Cole, “Mozart and Two Theaters in
Josephinian Vienna”; Evan Baker, “Verdi’s Operas and Giuseppe Bertoja’s
Designs at the Gran Teatro La Fenice, Venice”; and Evan Baker, “Richard
Wagner and His Search for the Ideal Theatrical Space.” Entered separately in
this guide: Barbara Coeyman on Paris in the 17th century (#2267), Mark
Radice on Purcell’s theaters (#1522), Mark W. Stahura on the Haymarket
(#2721), E. Douglas Bomberger on Berlin (#2364), Karin Pendle on the Salle le
Peletier (#2299), and Helen Greenwald on Puccini (#1464). Indexed. - Sutcliffe, Tom. Believing in Opera.Princeton, N.J.: Princeton U.P., 1996. xv,
464p. ISBN 0-691-01563-5. ML1700 .S9485.
If you believe in opera, you will be able to assimilate its rendition in radical
stagings. Directors responsible for those innovations since 1970 are discussed,
including Peter Sellars, Steven Pimlott, Tim Hopkins, Richard Jones, David
Alden, Patrice Chéron, Ruth Berghaus, Matthew Richardson, Graham Vick,
and Peter Brook. Alfred Roller’s 1910 essay on staging reform is given in En-
glish translation. Index; no bibliography.
64 Opera