Classical Singers of the Opera and Recital Stages: A Bibliography of Biographical Materials

Have you ever tried to find information on your favourite classical singer, past or present? If you have, you know the frustrations involved. This work is a comprehensive listing, under one cover, of all known published and unpublished material of a biographical nature about classical singers of the opera and recital stages. If you own any or all of the current basic references on opera and singing, this represents a valuable companion to each of them. Classical Singers of the Opera and Recital Stages is a comprehensive listing of biographical materials about 1532 famous and not-so-famous vocalists. Materials from 30 languages and language variants are annotated including cross-references to 24 major dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works as well as 12 important periodicals. In addition to this body of information, 157 collective titles and 283 related books are also cross-referenced. There are also references to works such as the American National Biography which is currently in publication . All of this material is organised into five coded categories, and the codes remain standard throughout the work. A special feature of the work is a complete index to all vocalists accorded an entry in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992). Some 323 classical vocal artists, who do not appear in Grove-Opera , are included here. Cowden’s reference lists thousands of sources for obscure artists as well as for the legendary ones from the 17th century to 1993. Each reader should find sources of information previously unknown. This should be a valuable supplement to most recently published reference works in the field of vocal arts.