''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. First published in 1992 by

Macmillan Reference Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research and the Gale Gro ...

, London, it was edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was pub ...

with contributions from over 1,300 scholars. There are 11,000 articles in total, covering over 2,900 composers and 1800 operas. Appendices including an index of role names and an index of

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it b ...

s of

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

s, ensembles, and opera pieces. The dictionary is available online, together with ''

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 ...

''.

References

*William Salaman, "Review: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera", ''British Journal of Music Education'' (1999), 16: 97-110 Cambridge University Pres

*John Simon, "Review: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, 4 vols.", ''National Review'', April 26, 199

* * *Charles Rosen, "Review: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera", ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'', Volume 40, Number 8, April 22, 199

*Bernard Holland, "Grove Opera Dictionary Can Make Experts Of Dilettante and Pro", ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 2, 199

External links

Oxford Music Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Grove Dictionary of Opera, The 1992 non-fiction books Encyclopedias of music Books about opera