The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera

The paperback is reasonably priced, and includes all of the material of the often-specified-for-classwork hardcover text. The focus of the book is solidly on western opera, and in particular with the works and artists that have become canonical. The careful reader can distinguish between facts and opinions of which the book is filled with the former and has a thin layer of the latter as well. Conservative, heavily illustrated, and reliable are how I'd quickly describe the book.

A very good overview of the development of opera from the beginning with the first opera, Euridice, in around 1600 to near present. I bought it for a class on Italian opera and it has been very informative.

This paperback edition of the Oxford Illustrated History of Opera is the same as the hardback edition. It's a very good general history of opera with great pictures. The authors are all experts on the eras they cover. I'm using it for my opera history class, adding readings from other sources that discuss the music in more detail because this one has no musical examples. My only complaint is that it took forever to get!