This information, however, has been compressed into capsule form because the book is a practical guide rather than a historical or musicological treatise. Historical material anchors the reader in the necessary knowledge of period (when the composer lived, when the opera was first presented, and the time in which the story takes place), source of libretto, and any unusual circumstances of performance or revision. Furthermore, the student and writer, together with the general reader, can marvel at the amazing complexity of an opera production. The student and writer will benefit from the easy accessibility of facts, clearly presented. If he wants to see how others throughout the world have mounted a work, he is referred to published photographs, chiefly in the pages of Opera News. Then, if he should want to consult a fellow producer, he can readily discover others who have performed a given work in America. He can learn where to get all musical materials and translations. But by quick scanning he can determine all that is basic for production: the number and importance of settings the size of orchestra, chorus, ballet the number of singers, their relative importance and individual requirements. The producer can find in these pages all the information essential for judging which operas are suited to his equipment -or even, by virtue of period, style, and story, to his temperament. A book of fact rather than critical judgment, it reveals the many elements that make up more than five hundred operas. THIS book is designed to be useful to all opera producers, to students, writers, and performers, and also to those who, not actively concerned with the production of opera, nevertheless have a lively curiosity about the art. PUBLISHED IN GREAT BRITAIN, INDIA, AND PAKISTAN BY THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON, BOMBAY, AND KARACHI, AND IN CANADA BY THOMAS ALLEN, LTD., TORONTO Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 61-16843 © Copyright 1961 by the University of Minnesota All Rights Reserved PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT THE NORTH CENTRAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, ST. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis
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