Blunt, irreverent, and at times wittily subversive, Opera Wars spotlights opera's colorful and sometimes warring personalities, increasingly fierce controversies over content, and the battles being waged for its economic future.
Drawing on interviews with dozens of opera insiders-as well as her own experience as an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director, and arts commentator-Caitlin Vincent deftly unravels clichés and presumptions, exposing such debates as how much fidelity is owed to long-dead opera composers whose plots often stir racial and gender sensitivities, whether there's any cure for typecasting that leaves talented performers out of work and other performers chained to the same roles, and what explains the bizarre kowtowing of opera companies to the demands of traditionalist patrons.
Vincent never shrinks from depicting the industry's top-to-bottom messiness and its stubborn resistance to change. Yet, like a lover who can't quite break away, she always comes back to her veneration for the artform and in these pages stirringly evokes those moments on stage that can be counted on to make ardent fans of the most skeptical.
| ISBN: | 9781668084069 |
| Publication date: | 12th February 2026 |
| Author: | Caitlin Vincent |
| Publisher: | Scribner |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 304 pages |
| Genres: |
Popular culture Opera Music reviews and criticism |
Blunt, irreverent, and at times wittily subversive, Opera Wars spotlights opera's colorful and sometimes warring personalities, increasingly fierce controversies over content, and the battles being waged for its economic future.Drawing on interviews with dozens of opera insiders-as well as her own experience as an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director, and arts commentator-Caitlin Vincent deftly unravels clichés and presumptions, exposing such debates as how much fidelity is owed to long-dead opera composers whose plots often stir racial and gender sensitivities, whether there's any cure for typecasting that leaves talented performers out of work and other performers chained to the same roles, and what explains the bizarre kowtowing of opera companies to the demands of traditionalist patrons. Vincent never shrinks from depicting the industry's top-to-bottom messiness and its stubborn resistance to change.
Opera Wars features in the following genres: Popular culture, Opera, Music reviews and criticism
Hardback. £18.00, down from the £20.00 cover price. In Stock.
Opera Wars was written by Caitlin Vincent and published by Scribner
Opera Wars has 304 pages
£18.00, reduced from £20.00. In Stock.