An Introduction to the Opera
Opera began in the late Renaissance, in about 1600, as an attempt to present the Greek tragedies as they were originally performed, when they were sung, not spoken. It quickly evolved into court entertainment, and then into a form with wide popular appeal. We briefly sketch the history of the opera, its composers and the stars that have made it the most exciting of all the performing arts.

Curtains at the Opera
The opera house and its environs provide a delicious setting for murder. Any writer who wishes to use it, however, should be steeped in its atmosphere and lore. We look at a number of opera mysteries, including several written by renowned sopranos. Ho-Yo-To-Ho!

Collecting Donna Leon
Donna Leon’s first book, Death at La Fenice, begins in the opera house in Venice, Italy. Leon loves opera and is deeply involved in it, as her novel shows. Her brilliant first outing introduces her Inspector Guido Brunetti series, which is better known in Europe than in the United States. That will likely change.

Donna Leon: A Checklist
Harper & Row published the first editions of the first five books. The subsequent novels were all first published in the United Kingdom; some of these have never had an American edition.

Gather & Bind:
The Fundamentals of Book Collecting
Part Three: What Should I Collect?

Books into Film
Enrico Caruso: His Life and Death, a biography by Dorothy Caruso; The Great Caruso, a film from M-G-M.

Ten Years Ago
April 1995 Checklist Update: James A. Michener