History Through The Opera Glass

This first-of-its-kind, highly entertaining, and carefully researched account reveals how nearly 200 operas by leading composers and librettists have portrayed the major events and personalities of more than 2000 years of history. In a continuous and absorbing narrative, the book sweeps from Roman times to 1820, with a cast of characters that includes Julius Caesar * Antony and Cleopatra * Attila * Charlemagne * Henry VIII * Elizabeth I * Catherine the Great * Napoleon