The author, an American, has a very restricted view of operatic Europe: 150 pages, nearly half the total, are devoted to Italy and there is a reasonable coverage of Germany, but very little on what she considers the periphery, and nothing at all on Russia, Scandinavia, Scotland, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. In England she notes only London, Glyndebourne and Aldeburgh, ignoring Opera North and Garsington among much else; even in London, she seems aware only of Covent Garden and English National Opera as still presenting opera, though she does mention other theatres that used to perform them regularly. As early as page three she says “this guide is by no means a scholarly book”, and the number of her inaccuracies and mistranslations confirms that, but her enthusiasm is very evident, and to be fair, the places she does describe are important: operatic history is after all dominated by the Italian‐German axis.
She describes the theatres in each town, gives a sketch map, and some drawings, says a bit about the operas first performed there, lists places associated with visiting or resident musicians ‐ including some burial places and monuments ‐ and recommends a few hotels and restaurants. I did not think her choice of these last, in London at any rate, particularly judicious and so have some reservations about other places I know less well; perhaps a more comprehensive, specialist guide might serve the tourist better. She seems only to know about underground stations in London where buses are often a better way of getting from place to place. Nowhere does she say anything about ticket prices.
This guide could be of value, and it is certainly cheap enough, but I cannot be wholeheartedly enthusiastic about it.
