Here is a marvelous guide to over 2,500 operatic characters, with synopses of over 250 major works. Each entry provides a full description of the role, indicates its vocal category, and discusses who first created the part and other notable performers. Best of all, the volume boasts twenty-five feature articles--illustrated with photographs--by many well-known personalities who themselves constitute a who's who of opera. Readers will find Placido Domingo writing on the character of Otello, perhaps his greatest role. Bryn Terfel writes on Leporello, Janet Baker on Mary Stuart, Thomas Hampson on Posa, and Theodore Uppman on Billy Budd. Other contributors include Andrew Porter, Sena Junnac, Philip Langridge, Jonathan Miller, Sir Charles MacKerras, and Marie McLaughlin. These special articles reveal much about the creative process behind some of the most famous performances in opera history. From Arabella to Wozzeck, here is a wealth of information on the main characters in the repertoire of both opera and operetta. Both informative and absorbing, it is a must for all opera lovers.