I picked up this little book for a mere £2 from my local second hand book supplier. I thought that it would provide a few minutes of entertaining divertimento: I was wrong. This tome is written in what I call the Dorling Kindersley style. Each double page spread can be read as a stand alone document but, the book can be read in a normal fashion. It is absolutely jam packed with information that an ignoramus such as I did not know and, I suspect that even an expert may learn from this work. The style is light but this should not be confused with uninformative. In 144 pages of A5 size paper, this book squeezes in a history of the genre and its leading exponents sufficient for all but the most serious follower of opera. ( )