This is tricky. A lot of people see the word opera or a horned helmet and think it’s not for them. They think it’s hard work. My first hope is that they’re not turned off and actually open the book. Once they do, it’s clear this is not your grandmother’s opera book. There’s serious research, but it’s entertaining and funny. I make fun of tenors. There’s snark from the first line.

I structured the book cumulatively. These battlegrounds build on each other—casting affects hiring, fidelity affects economics, programming affects careers. It starts with the score, then the stage, the cast, rehearsal rooms, companies, and keeps expanding so you can wrap your head around the industry. I do get flack for calling opera an industry. It is an art form, obviously, but there’s a machine behind it. It’s a site of employment. Audiences are consumers. Ignoring the human-resource aspects does everyone a disservice.

I intentionally made the cover funny—battling opera singers, Valkyries. I want people to think, this isn’t what I expect from opera. They hear opera everywhere—commercials, pasta sauce. People should know about it. 

I don’t promise to solve the opera wars. These issues aren’t going away. I lay out both sides objectively, though my opinions come through. I want people to think differently and make different choices. Cultural practices don’t happen in a vacuum. There’s discourse, history, and consequence. Selfishly, I hope opera-curious people buy tickets. Not just writing it off after one experience. Eighty percent of first-time opera-goers don’t go back. That shouldn’t be the case. Try different operas. Different works. The audience can be a continuum. 

I hope the book sparks conversation. Most of my work ends up in journals people never see. This is for a public audience. I enjoyed it. This was more fun to write than a monograph. I wrote it like a libretto, reading it aloud for rhythm. I also processed my own complicated feelings about opera while writing it. It’s a love-hate relationship. I do love opera, but I also see the issues clearly. I hope even people who don’t like opera understand it better. They’ll appreciate the drama, controversy, and nonsense. Go to the opera—it’s the last AI-free zone.