Opera Wars

Opera Wars is very much an examination of where the opera industry currently stands and all of the pressure points and conflicts that have emerged from having this four-century-old art form collide with contemporary society. I divide the book into eight key battlegrounds. They’re not the only battlegrounds in the opera industry, but they’re the most front-of-mind ones. In each chapter, I dig into the tensions and arguments happening within the industry—around casting, how operas are meant to be staged, historical practices like blackface and yellowface (which are still very common in opera), and fidelity to long-dead composers and librettists.

I also look backstage at opera as a site of employment—rehearsal room dynamics, power dynamics, career pathways or lack thereof, and financial pressures. It’s aimed at people who are curious about opera but don’t quite know where to start, as well as people who are already opera fans or even opera insiders. It’s meant to be accessible: to bring everyone together, set a common denominator, and then dig into the really fascinating, dysfunctional aspects of the opera world.