Each Opera Guide contains the complete text of an opera in the original, with a parallel English translation, introductory essays, numerous musical examples, and illustrations. "The subject cannot fail " exulted Verdi, when recommending Victor Hugo's play, " Le Roi s'amuse," to his librettist. But the censors made every effort to stop it, and the baritone was not easily convinced that a hunchback role would suit him. Jonathan Keates gives a vivid insight into the composition of a masterpiece. Verdi long afterwards thought it was his best work, and Roger Parker explains why. Peter Nichols,...