This reference work draws on The Viking Opera Guide (which covers over 1500 operas) to present the major composers and works of four centuries of opera's history, from Peri's Dafne (the first opera) through Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Wagner, to the most acclaimed composers of today. An outline of the musical career of over 150 composers, and an assessment of their contribution to opera, is followed by entries on more than 450 operas, providing details of the cast, discussion of the background and sources of the work, a synopsis of the plot and a musical analysis directing the listener to points of interest. Extensive entries are dedicated to the most prolific major composers, such as Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Handel and Donizetti, but the guide also covers many less-celebrated figures, as well as operas that are rarely performed but are nevertheless widely available on recordings. The guide aims for a broad and catholic approach, covering not only the great works of the mainstream repertoire, but also the various precursors and early forms of opera, the Savoy operas of Sullivan, the operettas of Lehar and Offenbach, and the musicals of Gershwin, Rodgers and Sondheim.