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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #14968.
The Standard Operas: Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers is a handbook that surveys the operas most likely to appear in modern seasons, offering concise sketches of each work. The compiler draws on the best authorities, supplements them with personal observations, and presents for every entry a brief biography of the composer, a synopsis of the story, an outline of the music’s character, notable scenes and numbers, premiere dates, original casts when available, and relevant historical context. The introductory passage makes clear that the aim is to inform the general public rather than musicians, avoiding technical jargon while still providing enough detail to deepen an opera‑goer’s appreciation. The book’s scope is evident in its extensive contents list, ranging from Auber’s Fra Diavolo to Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung, and in the sample entries that blend factual data with vivid descriptions of key arias, ensembles, and dramatic moments.
Written in a clear, nineteenth‑century style, the text reflects the scholarly yet accessible tone of its 1885 publication. It reads like a well‑organized reference guide, with a voice that is descriptive rather than critical, and a focus on the narrative and musical highlights that would interest a curious listener. Readers who enjoy attending the opera, studying its plots, or seeking background before a performance will find it especially rewarding, as will students of music history who prefer a straightforward overview to dense theoretical analysis.
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PREFACE.
The object of the compiler of this Handbook is to present to the reader a brief but comprehensive sketch of each of the operas contained in the modern repertory which are likely to be given during regular seasons. To this end he has consulted the best authorities, adding to the material thus collected his own observations, and in each case presented a necessarily brief sketch of the composer, the story of each opera, the general character of the music, its prominent scenes and numbers,--the latter in the text most familiar to opera-goers,--the date of first performances, with a statement of the original cast wherever it has been possible to obtain it, and such historical information concerning the opera and its composition as will be of interest to the reader. The work has been prepared for the general public rather than for musicians; and with this purpose in view, technicalities have been avoided as far as possible, the aim being to give musically uneducated lovers of opera a clear understanding of the works they are likely to hear, and thus heighten their enjoyment. In a word, the operas are described rather than criticised, and the work is presented with as much thoroughness as seemed possible considering the necessarily brief space allotted to each. In the preparation of the Handbook, the compiler acknowledges his indebtedness to Grove's excellent "Dictionary of Music" for dates and other statistical information; and he has also made free use of standard musical works in his library for historical events connected with the performance and composition of the operas. It only remains to submit this work to opera-goers with the hope that it may add to their enjoyment and prove a valuable addition to their libraries.--G.P.U.
CHICAGO, August, 1885.
CONTENTS.
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