Opera: A History in Documents by Piero Weiss. Oxford University Press (198 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016-4314), 2002. 368 pp., $35.
If you were afraid that one more perfunctory rendering of opera history in its chronological, fact-revealing format was being handed down to you, calm those fears. Piero Weiss has delivered an intriguing, insightful and simply fascinating look at opera history. While the materials are predominantly academic, this book is an important contribution ...