A History of Opera by Carolyn Abbate and Roger Parker
Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5
I bought A History of Opera over a year ago because I work for an opera company and I thought I might as well learn more about opera itself. This was a slow read for me. Have I enjoyed other music history books more than this one? Yes. Was it a bad book? No.
There was a lot more music analysis in A History of Opera than I thought, but I should’ve expected that because music history always involves at least some music analysis. I did like learning a bit more about the opera giants that I’ve heard so much about in school and work, such as Mozart, Verdi, and, of course (unfortunately), Wagner. I also liked that the book encompasses the very beginning of opera’s formation to the present-day struggles of composers writing new operas and the museum culture of opera. I would have liked a bit more storytelling regarding the actual history of opera, but overall it was an okay read.
If you love music history and music analysis/theory and are interested in opera, you will enjoy A History of Opera.
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