Research Guides: Opera &amp; Operetta: A Guide to Research and Resources: Dictionaries, Guides &amp; Catalogs

General Music Dictionaries & Encyclopedias with Solid Opera Coverage

Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Provides entries on opera history and development, genres, specific operas, composers, librettists, producers, staging, opera houses and more.

Opera Dictionaries

A Dictionary of Opera Characters (Oxford Reference Online)
A who's who in opera containing over 2,500 entries on operatic characters, with information on the creator of the role and notable performances.
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera by Stanley Sadie (editor)
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML102.O6 N5 1998
Publication Date: 1992
Over 11,000 articles dealing with all of the varied aspects of the operatic experience, from the composer, librettist and their cultural background, through singers, conductors and directors, to cities, opera houses, costume, choreography and set design.
Historical Dictionary of Opera (Online) by Scott L. Balthazar
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML102.O6 B28 2013 (print version)
Publication Date: 2013
Features composers, singers, technical terms, and also considers the cities which were and still are opera centers, literary works which were turned into librettos, and types of pieces and genres.
Operas in English (Online) by Margaret Ross Griffel
Publication Date: 2013
Includes standard entries including character vocal ranges, and also comments on special musical problems and techniques, other settings of the text, and other operas involving the same story or characters
The Grove Book of Opera Singers (Online) by Laura Macy (Editor)
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML 102 .O6 G76 2008 (print version)
Publication Date: 2008; 2009 (e-version)
Collection of authoritative biographies, also offering colorful portraits of the singer's personality and vocal style, plus astute evaluations of their place in operatic history

Opera-Specific Databases

Aria Database
"Over 1200 arias with selections from more than 60 composers. Includes a database of the characters with a short description, the arias they sing, and the creator of the role (if known). Searchable by name, opera, language, composer, voice type, range, keyword, and whether there is a sound file, translation, or text available. There are also annotated links and a list of opera houses and companies."
Opening Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres
Cross-index of data for over 38,000 opera and oratorio premieres, hosted by Stanford University Libraries.
Operabase
Operabase – the reference for opera performances around the world. A database logging operatic activity worldwide since 1996, with over 470,000 performances. Public access includes current, past, and announced future seasons.

General Surveys & Overviews

Opera (Grove Music Online)
Detailed overview of the genre divided into numerous large sections.
Opera seria (Grove Music Online)
In-depth article covering Italian 18th- and 19th-century opera on heroic or tragic subjects from history or mythology.
Opera buffa (Oxford Music Online)
An introduction to comic opera.

Bibliographies, Research Guides & Companions

Oxford Online Bibliographies compile authoritatively selected and annotated citations for key reference works, collected correspondence, biographies, monographs, and articles relating to prominent composers. Research guides provide detailed listings for a composer's known musical and literary works followed by annotated bibliographies of the secondary literature on the composer's œuvre arranged by genre and important topics in the composer's life, career, and reception history—plus other features such as a genealogies, chronologies, and indexes. Companions collate major essays by established experts that address key aspects of the composer's career, creative work, style, and critical reception.

The Oxford Handbook of Singing (Online) by Graham F. Welch, et al. (editors)
Call Number: MT820 .O99 2019 (print version)
Offering a multi-disciplinary perspective embracing the arts and humanities, physical, social and clinical sciences.
The Oxford Handbook of Opera (Online) by Helen M. Greenwald (editor)
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML1700 .O916 2014 (print version)
Publication Date: 2014; Nov 2014 (e-version)
Major topics include: Words, Music, and Meaning; Performance and Production; Opera and Society; and Transmission and Reception
The Cambridge Companion to Opera Studies (Online) by Nicholas Till (editor)
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML1700 .C166 2012 (Print version)
Publication Date: 2012; Dec 2012 (e-version)
Offers a wide-ranging guide to a rapidly expanding field of study and new ways of thinking about a rich and intriguing art form, placing opera back at the centre of our understanding of Western culture
The Cambridge Companion to Singing (Online) by John Potter (editor)
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML1460 .C28 2000 (print version)
Covers world music, rock, rap and jazz; European art song, ensemble singing, the English cathedral tradition and the choral movement in the United States; Renaissance, Baroque and Classical singing treatises, contemporary vocal techniques, children's choirs and the teaching of singing today.

Princeton University Library

Opera & Operetta: A Guide to Research and Resources: Dictionaries, Guides & Catalogs

General Music Dictionaries & Encyclopedias with Solid Opera Coverage

Opera Dictionaries

Opera-Specific Databases

General Surveys & Overviews

Bibliographies, Research Guides & Companions