Christopher Headington (1930–1996)

Taking the reader through the tangled web of opera's opulent history, this book traces its roots back to Ancient Greek music dramas, through the medieval Christian and secular musical plays, to the Renaissance and to the prolific 17th century. It continues with detailed accounts of the 18th century - when opera became a household word - the High Baroque, the French and German heroic and romantic comedies, the great Italian period and the contemporary works of, amongst others, Glass and Birtwistle. This anecdotal study frequently touches on other aspects of opera, including its settings and economics and the social, political and even religious or philosophical elements.… (more)

These six books, part of a 12-title series, all carry a small portrait of the composer on the cover and the tag line "an essential guide to his life and works." They are all the same length, with six to ten chapters, and offer a complete list of works and of recommended readings and recordings. These six are by different authors, but most of the authors have written other titles in the series, and they have all written about music elsewhere. The composers featured were selected on the basis of popularity with British radio listeners (which makes the exclusion of Mozart surprising). As such, the authors presume that readers possess a love of and familiarity with standard repertoire. Containing no musical examples, the books are more biography than musical analysis and serve as good, lively introductions to the composers.… (more)