''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an
encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...
of
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes.
The dictionary was first published in 1992 by
Macmillan Reference, London, and edited by
Stanley Sadie. Christina Bashford was the managing editor.
While some entries were based on their equivalent entry in ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...
'', most were specially commissioned.
The work contains contributions from over 1,300 scholars, with 11,000 articles in total, covering over 2,900 composers and 1800 operas.
The operas discussed range from the earliest operas in 16th century Italy to the 1992
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
work ''
The Voyage''.
The final volume includes four appendices: an index of principal role names in 850 notable operas; an index of
incipits of
arias and
ensembles (first line only, no musical examples); a list of contributors; and illustration acknowledgements.
In 1997, the dictionary was acquired by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
and reprinted.
The dictionary was originally available online in a web version of its original form
[ ] but has now been merged as part of Oxford's ''
Grove Music Online'' which comprises the range of Grove Dictionary titles with some ongoing revisions.
References
External links
Oxford Music Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Grove Dictionary of Opera, The
1992 non-fiction books
Encyclopedias of music
Books about opera