These essays examine representative operatic productions from diverse national schools and periods, from Purcell to Mozart, Verdi, Wagner and Puccini. Historical performance practice and other musical matters are considered as well as the elements of stagecraft, including scenery, costumes and lighting.

Intended for the music student, the professional musician, and the music lover, Chamber Music: An Essential History covers repertoire from the Renaissance to the present, crossing genres to include string quartets, piano trios, clarinet quintets, and other groupings. Mark A. Radice gives a thorough overview and history of this long-established and beloved genre, typically performed by groups of a size to fit into spaces such as homes or churches and tending originally toward the string and wind instruments rather than percussion. Radice begins with chamber music's earliest expressions...