An enchanting little celebration of what has been,
since the sixteenth century, one of the most
beloved forms of music and drama. As Duncan Rock
says in this exceptionally edited book, "What
performing art has caused a king to lose his
throne, provoked riots in New York City's Astor Place,
and given birth to a cast of characters-in and out of
costume-as memorable as any in literature? Opera, naturally."
Included in this volume are such lovely pieces as
Willa Cather's tale of a stuffy businessman's infatuation
with a prima donna and, Puccini biographer, George R. Marek's
account of the opening night disaster of Madame Butterfly,
"One of the most spectacular scandals in operatic history."
