Have you ever heard the beauty and power of an opera voice or felt moved by a story told in a language you don't even know?

Highlighting 165 works and their composers, this guide is a perfect introduction to opera - one of the world's most dramatic art forms. This illustrated book is packed full of photography to showcase the greatest operas and will take you on a journey through the history of opera itself.

Discover the basics: how opera developed, types of voices, and theatrical staging - including a look at stunning opera houses around the globe. See the composers who first moulded the art form and those who made it their own. Enjoy 400 years of musical drama from late-Renaissance Italy to works from contemporary names, and immerse yourself in the stories of more than 160 operas - including Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Carmen, La Bohème, and Madama Butterfly - through act-by-act synopses.

With operatic works throughout history organised by geographical region, Opera is essential reading, whether you are a season ticket-holder looking for a quick brush-up before a performance, or new to opera and want to know more.

Alan Riding is an opera devotee who as European Arts Correspondent for The New York Times has attended innumerable opera productions in theatres from London to Vienna, Berlin to Milan, Paris to New York.
Leslie Dunton-Downer has written librettos for operas produced in Aspen, New York, Paris, Spoleto (Italy) and Moscow. She has collaborated with leading composers, conductors, singers and directors.
They are co-authors of DK¿s Essential Shakespeare Handbook.