100 Great Operas and Their Stories  •  Henry W. Simon MUSIC •  1989 •  PAPER  • 554 PAGES A reference to 100 of the best-known operas from the 17th century to today, featuring information on composers, production, history, plot, characters, and noted arias. (MUS04, $16.95)
Aida in Full Score  •  Giuseppe Verdi MUSIC •  1990 •  PAPER  • 437 PAGES The full orchestral score of the great opera. (ITL153, $24.95)
Aida Libretto  •  Antonio Ghislanzoni  •  Giuseppe Verdi MUSIC •  1990 •  PAPER  • 40 PAGES The libretto to the great grand opera, in Italian and English. (ITL154, $5.95)
The Beggar's Opera  •  John Gay  •  T.O. Treadwell LITERATURE •  1987 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES Written in 1728, John Gay's ballad opera is a satirical look at 18th-century London. It's the model for Brecht's Threepenny Opera. (GBR460, $10.00)
Cambridge Opera Handbook: Giuseppi Verdi, Falstaff  •  James A. Hepokoski MUSIC •  1984 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES A detailed guide to the history and composition of Verdi's Falstaff. It includes a synopsis and an overview of the revisions to the opera since its 1887 premiere in Milan. (ITL263, $43.00)
Carmen and Other Stories  •  Prosper Merimee  •  Nicholas Jotcham LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 361 PAGES A sophisticated Parisian, Merimee preferred tales of high drama, banditry, outlaws and outcasts set in exotic locales, preferably in the past. This collection of nine stories includes: Carmen, the source for the opera; Columba, set in Corsica; the Etruscan Vase, one of his Parisian tales; The Storming of the Redoubt, involving Napoleon's 1812 Russian campaign; and Lokis, set in the forests of Medieval Lithuania. (FRN201, $13.95)
The Complete Operas of Mozart, A Critical Guide  •  Charles Osborne MUSIC •  1988 •  PAPER (MUS12, $17.95)
Encounters With Verdi  •  Marcello Conati  •  Richard Stokes MUSIC •  1993 •  PAPER  • 472 PAGES A collection of first hand accounts of experiences with Verdi, drawn from musicians, artists, academics, critics and journalists in the late 19th century. (MUS06, $24.50)
Falstaff, in Full Score  •  Giuseppe Verdi  •  Arrigo Boito MUSIC •  1995 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES A reprint of the original, and complete, score of Giuseppe Verdi's "Falstaff." (ITL264, $26.95)
Gustav Mahler, The Symphonies  •  Constantin Floros  •  Jutta Wicker  •  Vernon Wicker MUSIC •  1997 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES A thorough overview of Mahler's symphonies, covering their inspiration, history, composition, reception, and form. (MUS10, $19.95)
Leos Janacek, Kat'a Kabanova  •  John Tyrell MUSIC •  1982 •  PAPER  • 252 PAGES (MUS13, $45.00)
The Life of Verdi  •  John Rosselli MUSIC •  2000 •  PAPER  • 204 PAGES A biography of the innovative 19th-century composer. In studying Verdi's life, Rosselli also examines the master's major operas and their long-lasting appeal. Part of the Musical Lives series. (ITL447, $34.99)
A Listener's Guide to Mozart's Great Operas  •  Patrick Cairns Hughes  •  Spike Hughes MUSIC •  1972 •  PAPER  • 245 PAGES (MUS11, $7.95)
Lucia di Lamermoor, Libretto in Italian & English  •  Gaetano Donizetti  •  Salvatore Cammarano MUSIC •  1993 •  PAPER  • 36 PAGES The libretto for Donizetti's opera, Lucia di Lamermoor, presented in Italian and English. (ITL266, $4.95)
The Magic of Opera  •  J. Merrill Knapp MUSIC •  1985 •  PAPER  • 371 PAGES A comprehensive introduction to the history, structure and forms of opera, written for the general reader. (GEN139, $18.95)
The Merry Wives of Windsor  •  William Shakespeare LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 242 PAGES This late Shakespearean comedy, supposedly written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I, provides the basic plot for Verdi's final masterpice, Falstaff. (GEN177, $10.95)
The Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas  •  John Freeman  •  Beverly Sills MUSIC •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 1017 PAGES A two-volume, boxed collection of the complete plots for 225 operas, authorized by the Metropolitan Opera. For each opera, the author provides the composer's biographical information, a list of characters and premiere dates. (NYC15, $50.00)
Mozart  •  Peter Gay BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2006 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES In this compact book, historian and biographer Peter Gay paints a portrait of the musical genius based on factual details rather than long-established myths. He delves into Mozart's complex relationship with his father, the daunting role of being born a child prodigy, and his exploration of new musical territory, particularly opera. A volume in the excellent "Penguin Lives" series. (AST43, $13.00)
Opera 101, A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera  •  Fred Plotkin  •  Placido Domingo MUSIC •  1994 •  PAPER  • 494 PAGES A well-written introduction to opera, this volume includes a brief history of the art form, a guide to operatic terms and a review of 11 famous operas. With an introduction by Placido Domingo. (GEN175, $16.95)
The Penguin Concise Guide to Opera  •  Amanda Holden REFERENCE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 530 PAGES An essential reference for the opera enthusiast. Well organized, with short descriptions of plots, characters, performances and historical background. (MUS01, $20.00)
The Queen of Spades  •  Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky MUSIC •  1999 •  PAPER  • 800 PAGES The full score of one of Tchaikovsky's most popular operas, his adaptation of Pushkin's short story of the same name. (RUS219, $39.95)
Rossini  •  Gaia Servadio MUSIC •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 320 PAGES An enlightening biography of the 19th-century Italian composer from his humble beginnings through his string of early successes and his years of depression and illness. (ITL486, $26.00)
Salome, In Full Score  •  Richard Strauss MUSIC •  1995 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A reprint of the original, and complete, score of "Salome," one of the most famous operas by the great German composer Ricard Strauss. Presented in large format. (GER80, $22.95)
Shostakovich, A Life Remembered  •  Elizabeth Wilson BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2006 •  PAPER  • 600 PAGES An engaging biography of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich, drawing heavily on the accounts of his contemporaries. (RUS94, $25.95)
A Song of Love and Death, The Meaning of Opera  •  Peter Conrad BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1996 •  PAPER  • 381 PAGES With a chapter entitled "The Ecstasy and Agony of Song," this classic book is anything but an objective report on the state of opera or a historical survey. It is, instead, a personal, vivid rant on the pleasures and significance of opera covering singers, great stages, conductors, composers and, of course, the music. Originally published in 1987. (GEN25, $16.00)
Testimony, The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich  •  Dmitri Shostakovich  •  Solomon Volkov  •  Antoninaw Bovis BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES First published in 1979, this controversial book still heats conversations about the composer Shostakovich and his embittered views on Stalin's regime. In it, Shostakovich confesses to his friend Volkov that he involuntarily played the role of a loyal spokesperson for the Soviet Union. Unsurprisingly, Volkov's book was attacked by skeptics and denounced by Stalinists, who called it a forgery. (RUS93, $20.00)
Twentieth Century Opera, A Guide  •  George Martin MUSIC •  1999 •  PAPER  • 703 PAGES First published in 1979, and now in it's fourth edition, this survey of 20th century opera contains thoughtful essays, as well as capsule descriptions of 90 of the century's best operas. (MUS02, $25.00)
Valery Gergiev and the Kirov, A Story of Survival  •  John Ardoin MUSIC •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 296 PAGES Both a sumptuously illustrated history of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theater (aka the Kirov) and a portrait of its enthusiastic and talented artistic director, Valery Gergiev. (RUS212, $34.95)
Verdi and his Operas  •  Stanley Sadie  •  Roger Parker MUSIC •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES A book in the 'New Grove Composers Series', this is essentially a compilation of relevant material from the "New Grove Dictionary of Opera." The meat of the book is a collection of material on each Verdi opera, but it also includes a brief biography. (ITL203, $24.95)
Verdi at the Golden Gate, Opera and San Francisco in the Gold Rush Years  •  George Whitney Martin  •  Lotfi Mansouri MUSIC •  1993 •  HARD COVER  • 321 PAGES A musical history of San Francisco in the 19th century, focusing on the popularity of opera (and especially Verdi) in the period following the gold rush. (SFO14, $55.00)
Verdi With a Vengeance, An Energetic Guide to the Life and Complete Works of the King of Opera  •  William Berger MUSIC •  2000 •  PAPER  • 497 PAGES Recommended for its breezy, opinionated overview of Verdi's life and work, Berger sketches Verdi's life and provided a scene-by-scene analysis of his major operas. Less scholarly than the classic Verdi biographies, it's a useful introduction to opera. By the author of "Wagner Without Fear." (GEN170, $16.00)
Virgil Thomson, Composer on the Aisle  •  Anthony Tommasini BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 605 PAGES A comprehensive biography of the American composer and critic. The author, a New York Times music critic, was also a personal friend of Thomson's. (MUS22, $30.00)
Wagner Without Fear, Learning to Love-And Even Enjoy-Opera's Most Demanding Genius  •  William Berger MUSIC •  1998 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES Berger's delightful guide is invaluable in exploring the exotic world of opera's most controversial composer. Irreverent and readable, it helps to make Wagner accessible to even the greatest of skeptics. (GEN171, $15.95)
Wagner's Ring, Turning the Sky Round  •  M. Owen Lee MUSIC •  1994 •  PAPER A concise introduction and analysis of Wagner's Ring Cycle by opera expert Father Owen Lee, expanded from the author's intermission talks during Met Opera broadcasts. (MUS30, $10.95)