Father Lee is internationally known for his commentaries on opera. This book gathers his best commentaries and articles on 23 works for the musical stage, from the pioneering Orpheus of Monteverdi to the forward-looking Ariadne of Richard Strauss.

From the Wall Street Journal's opera critic, a wide-ranging narrative history of how and why the New York City Opera went bankrupt—and what it means for the future of the arts In October 2013, the arts world was rocked by the news that the New York City Opera—“the people’s opera”—had finally succumbed to financial hardship after 70 years in operation. The company had been a fixture on the national opera scene—as the populist antithesis of the grand Metropolitan Opera, a nurturing home for young American talent, and a place where new, lively ideas shook up a venerable art form. But NYCO’s demise represented more than the loss of a cherished organization: it was a harbinger of massive upheaval in the performing arts—and a warning about how cultural institutions would need to change in order to survive. Drawing on extensive research and reporting, Heidi Waleson, one of the foremost American opera critics, recounts the history of this scrappy company and reveals how, from the beginning, it precariously balanced an ambitious artistic program on fragile financial supports. Waleson also looks forward and considers some better-managed, more visionary opera companies that have taken City Opera’s lessons to heart. Above all, Mad Scenes and Exit Arias is a story of money, ego, changes in institutional identity, competing forces of populism and elitism, and the ongoing debate about the role of the arts in society. It serves as a detailed case study not only for an American arts organization, but also for the sustainability and management of nonprofit organizations across the country.

(Vocal Selections). Jason Robert Brown, the creator of Parade and Songs for a New World , has written a distinctive new Off-Broadway musical. The Last Five Years tells the story of a failed marriage of 20-somethings: he a successful novelist, she a struggling actress. Her story is told in reverse, his conventionally moving forward. They meet in the middle at the point of their wedding. Brown's strong writing has found a solid following among musical theatre fans. Our songbook features piano/vocal arrangements of 12 songs: Goodbye Until Tomorrow * I Can Do Better Than That * If I Didn't Believe in You * Moving Too Fast * The Next Ten Minutes * Nobody Needs to Know * A Part of That * The Schmuel Song * Shiksa Goddess * Still Hurting * A Summer in Ohio * When You Come Home to Me. "Short, bittersweet and nearly perfect, Brown has come up with a winning combination of music and book." Variety

From operas presented in reconfigured army barracks to those mounted on a stage rivaling that of New York's Metropolitan Opera House, Indiana University Opera Theater has grown into a world-class training ground for opera's next generation. This illustrated history captures the excitement, hard work, and talent that distinguish each performance and that have made IU Opera Theater what it is today. It includes six decades of opera production from the inaugural Tales of Hoffman, a legendary Parsifal, and a performance of Martinů's Greek Passion at the Met, to the 2008 La Bohème--the first opera streamed live on the internet from Indiana University to a worldwide audience.

"'No matter how difficult their jobs are, the president of the United States and the mayor of New York don't have to deal with primma donnas.' So writes Sir Rudolf Bing, the renowned general manager of the Metropolitan Opera for twenty-two years. Every internationally famous diva of our time has crossed his spirited and autocratics path--among them, Birgit Nilsson, Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Leontyne Price, and, most pyrotechnically, Maria Callas. 'What am I to do with the dame?' he cried in the midst of their epistolary duel. 'My fear is that she wants me on my knees begging her to come, make all the arrangements and then cancel. I am not keen. Life is difficult enough.' Their legendary clash produced more Sturm und Drang than the Ring cycle. For the first time, in these pages, Sir Rudolf reveals the entire tempestuous episode. And this is only one story from a witty treasury of anecdotes chronicled in this outspoken sequel to his bestselling memoirs, 5,000 Nights at the Opera. With the devilish wit and unyielding dedication to maintaining the 'grand' in grand opera which has made him great, Sir Rudolf reveals what running the country's greatest opera company entails. He generously shares his personal beliefs and opinions of the stars, designers, directors, managements, boards of directors and his priceless impressions of opera--both yesterday and today. Filled with often amusing, sometimes poignant, always passionate recollections, A Knight at the Opera is a book that no one but Rudolf Bing could have written. As Garson Kanin states in his introduction, 'The present work is a souvenir, a gift to us, on his eightieth birthday. The number has no significance. Mr. Bing, Rudolf Bing, Sir Rudolf, Rudi, is--like his vision, his aspiration, his achievements--ageless.'" --Dust jacket.