A Webliography

Introduction
About this project
Evaluation criteria and ratings

General Information
History
Educational Institutions and Projects
Record Label sites
Shopping sites
Databases
Magazines
Performers

Opera is a dramatic work that can be sung in its entirety or partly. The music in opera may be divided into separate pieces for voices, like arias. There are also instrumental parts like overtures, interludes, or dances. This art form got its start in Florence around 1600. Throughout time, opera has changed along with the viewing public. Each era added different elements to the style the opera was performed. For example, the use of overtures slowly dwindled after the 19th century. Opera is an enduring art form that represents the drama of human feelings. (Benjamin Hadley, ed. Britannica Book of Music, (Garden City, New York: Doubleday/Britannica Books, 1980), pg. 566-576.

This webliography was created by Lari-Anne Au, a graduate student of Library and Information Science at the University of Hawaii, who has an interest in playing and listening to classical music. This webliography seeks to present sites that are of interest to a general audience and will provide basic information about opera. The ratings system helps to identify sources of relevant information and points out interesting sites that may not have as substantial information but are of interest. As most subject guides or directories only list sites and a short description of their content, this webliography seeks to point out more relevant sites through a ratings system.

Sites were evaluated based on content, ease of use, and relevancy. Sites that may have lower ratings are included because they contain relevant information. Ratings are based on the following criteria:

excellent and substantial content, easy to use

substantial and relevant content

limited but useful content, may be difficult to search, it is worth a look

General Information

Opera Web Opera Web is a good first stop when searching for information about opera. The contents include an opera of the month with a easy to read synopsis by acts. It also offers reference information, a crazy history of opera, and a fun zone with games.

Operas Online Calling itself "the worldwide Opera Vortal," this site offers search options on opera, composers, performers, and arias. It also has a list of opera houses worldwide. While the information on composers is limited, it is still a useful site.

Opera Works This site is an opera dictionary of terms with an audio pronunciation guide. Links on terms activates the guide. It is very helpful for finding basic information about composers and other terms. Terms listed are limited, but it is easy and quick to use.

Operabase Operabase offers comprehensive information about the world of opera. It contains information about opera houses by region. They are linked to maps of the regions so that house locations can be seen. They have a partnership with Groves Dictionary of Opera which allows the searching of terms. There are search options by composer, recording, singer, and producers.

OperaGlass This site offers libretti, texts, performance histories, and links to other sites. There is a wide selection of opera information available by composer. Information may include arias, dates written, and roles. The text can be cumbersome to read, but content is substantial.

Classical Connections While offering general information about classical music for the beginner, this site also lists opera houses with links to their home pages. Lists are easy to read and easy to use. This site does not offer substantial information, but is good for beginners of music appreciation.

Operadio This site boasts the offering of eight channels of opera music for constant enjoyment. While not just a radio site, it has a search engine by categories that is user friendly. Other features include comments by guest columnists and reviews.

Classical Music in Italy This site can be difficult to use for non-Italian speakers, but offers comprehensive information about opera in Italy. Contains artist information, magazines, music analysis, and a daily calendar of operas being performed. Index can be read in English, but its contents are in Italian.

4Opera.com 4Opera.com is a very commercial site which offers links to companies for ticket purchases and other products. It contains links to performers' sites as well as a brief biography. The text can be difficult to read.

Back to Categories

History

The Story of Italian Opera The Pirandello Lyceum of the Institute of Italian-American Studies, Research and Culture Dissemination produced this site which contains a short overview of the history of the origins of opera. It is short, but informative.

Culturevulture.net Ignore the strange name. This site contains a synopsis of listed operas which is well done, but the list is very short. Each synopsis contains links to Amazon for CDs, books, and video. There are also links for each opera's libretto online and where it is being performed. The archives option does not have additional useful information about opera.

Back to Categories

Educational Institutions and Projects

Center for Italian Opera Studies at the University of Chicago This site includes information on research studies being done about Verdi and Rossini. Includes information on their works, libretti, and reports. Although it does not have general information about opera, the works done on these two composers are comprehensive. It includes information about their works as well as reports and reviews.

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania: Opera(Choose OOHPOPERA.HTML) This site contains the contents of a class offered at Edinboro University. It has informative opera abstracts and reviews. There is a highlighted link to the Verdi homepage, as Verdi is one of the most famous composers of opera. There is also information on the uniqueness of Italian playhouses. Opera lectures that detail the history of opera are also available on this site.

Back to Categories

Record Label Sites

BMG BMG is very easy to use. It offers an extensive amount of recorded music. Searching is done easily by genre, like classical music. Searches under title, artist, and composer are also possible. It is a user-friendly site that is easy to navigate.

Decca Decca has recordings by some famous artists like Luciano Pavarotti. This site has search capabilities by country and by artist. Decca has information about each artist that can include a brief biography, interviews, news, and tour information.

Back to Categories

Shopping sites

Yahoo Searches can also be done on Yahoo by genre. There is a separate section on opera that is very easy to use. The site also has links to opera message boards and other information as well as recording information.

Tower Records This site is more difficult to search than the others. Searches can be done based on the categories "music," "VHS/DVD," and "Classical" with the possibility of narrowing the search by choosing a department like "blues," and "international." It was difficult to use because there was no classical music department.

Operaworld Operaworld has features like "most requested," "travel," and "broadcast information." The shop offers posters and gifts as well as the usual CDs. Searches are done by title, artist, or composer with results found in CD, VHS, or DVD. This site easily allows users to find any type of product that has to do with opera.

OTOS OTOS specializes in obscure Italian music. It is an Italian site with English translations, but they may not be perfect. It offers both buying and selling of libretti, vocal scores, and recorded music. The goal of the site is the proliferation of classical Italian music.

Back to Categories

Databases

Aria Database The Aria Database offers searches by opera, composer, role, or selection. Search results include links for the sale of recordings on Amazon and scores for sale on Sheet Music Plus. This site helps locate translations of operas and text as well as recordings.

Operissimo Although the name suggests that it is an Italian site, much of Operissimo is in German and English. Searches can be done by performers, composers, and operas. Listings of opera houses are included by country. It can be difficult to navigate this site, especially if there are language changes.

Classic CD Classic CD includes information on artists by means of profiles, interviews, and their own personal opinion about their favorite roles. Search options include composer, title, artist, conductor, or catalog number. Results are sorted by media like 12 inch vinyl, CD, cassette, and VHS.

Back to Categories

Magazines

Opera Magazine Like many journals and magazines online, this site contains some articles, many from the latest issues. Information on back issues is available. Subscription sign ups are quite obvious. There are also opera reviews and special interest items.

Culturekiosque This site contains many interesting features like news archives and interviews with performers. There are also book reviews and other opera links. This site is easy to search and contains many free items of information. It offers a broad glimpse of performers and artists.

OperaNews Online This magazine is accessed by subscription, but there is a visitor's option. It is printed for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and contains information on the Metropolitan as well as opera in general. To access the full text capabilities, you must be a subscriber or a member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

Back to Categories

Performers

OperaStuff.com This site has a list of performers or artists with inks to brief biographies and the artist's homepage. Artists without their own homepage are not featured. The list of artists is in alphabetical order and also lists their voice range. The list is long, but it is easy to browse.

Soprano Central This collection contains a wide variety of biographies on sopranos. Each biography has links to recording information, schedules, and bibliographies. It is very informative and show different aspects on the lives of famous sopranos.

Tenorland This index of tenors includes performers from different eras like Enrico Caruso and Andrea Boccelli. Biography options can include interviews, reviews, and sound clips. The site also has news updates and information. There is a basic index with browsing through more names as an option.

Back to Categories