Edward J. Dent (1876–1957)

I'm not a fan of opera but found this at a used bookstore and realized I needed to know more about the basics. This is a short history of opera, written in 1940 by a Cambridge professor of music and opera devotee. I expected it to be dry and didactic, but it is witty and deprecating. The author freely admits to many of the reasons that the average person might be repelled by opera: terrible acting, self-important singers, long recitatives in a foreign language, conductors who think they are the most important person in the theater, pompous critics, etc. But he makes a case for opera as a a medium to be enjoyed by the "common man" and insists, reasonably, that opera always be performed in the language of the audience.… (more)

Originally published in 1913 when most of Mozart's operas were still almost completely unknown in Britain and America, Edward J. Dent's classic study is now reissued in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Mozart's death. Thoroughly revised in 1947, and now featuring a new introduction by one of today's most distinguished opera scholars, Winton Dean, this volume offers a whole new generation of readers access to the seminal work on Mozart's opera. Dent was fundamental in reviving interest in the great composer's opera, and his translations of the librettos did much to popularize
them with English-speaking audiences. For each of the major operas Dent examines its composition, explores the background of its libretto, provides a synopsis of its plot, analyzes its music, and offers a lively discussion of the work's public reception. In addition, he blends his study of the operas with much biographical detail, shedding light not only on the composer and the opera of his time, but on the whole eighteenth-century world of music in which Mozart thrived. Anyone interested in opera in general and Mozart in particular will find this book indispensible.… (more)