Norma is considered one of the finest of the ten operas composed during Vincenzo Bellini's short career, representing his genius more comprehensively than is usually the case with any single work by an operatic composer. This handbook provides the biographical and cultural context of the opera. It gives a full synopsis and an examination of the music and poetry, which is rooted in the aesthetics of early 19th-century Italian opera. Professor Kimbell suggests something of the impression Norma has made on our imaginations and sensibilities in the 165 years since it was first produced in Milan...

This handbook provides an in-depth account of the origins, style, and performance history of Der fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman), universally acknowledged as Wagner's first truly significant, original work. Designed for scholars, performers and the opera-going public, the book examines the biographical impulses behind the opera's conception, its place in the composer's career, its literary sources and production history. There is also a detailed survey of how generations of performers have interpreted the musical score. Rare pictures from important and influential productions...

The volume examines the many facets of one of Richard Strauss's most complex operas.

This book is a guide to Berg's second opera, Lulu, written in non-technical language.

This is a book on the best known of the Weill-Brecht collaborations which explores the extent and significance of the composer's contribution.

This is a series of studies of individual operas written for the opera-goer or record-collector as well as the student or scholar.

This 1993 book documents the importance of trophic cascades in aquatic ecology.