Opera and Its Characters

Is a book for which Grace City Limits, Inc. is doing the marketing and publicity. Please make sure to attend the reception, panel and book signing for Opera and Its Characters at Barnes and Noble/Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street on Monday, November 10th at 7pm. A panel of participants will include Andrew Farkas, Aloma Bardi and Randolph Mickelson. For more information about the event, please contact Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Triangle 212/595-9340.


A spectacularly illustrated witty book full of historical information and performance history of twenty operas – informative, beautiful and clever all at the same time.

Behind the scenes at the opera house there is a zany world of outsized characters, both on and off stage. Irreverent discussions of opera are usually held behind closed doors. Opera and Its Characters is filled with exceptional and matchless tales as told by two singers and their friends giving you their take on twenty operas through the eyes of the characters, shown in full-page color illustrations by Francis Keeping.

While the book is chockfull of information – history of the individual opera, its cast, composer and librettist, the idea is to set the scene for the opening night. The show business aspect of opera and the nuttiness of its characters and stories are the source of inspiration.

The stories in Opera and Its Characters include: The Queen of the Night, aka the world's worst mother-in-law; Don José, the quintessential mama's boy and murderer; opera's most dysfunctional family, King Nabucco of Babylon and his unhinged daughters, Lakmé and her rather unusual Gerald, who falls in love with her even after she says, You know, I could have had you killed. These and many familiar and uncommon characters' stories are contained in this book and are told in a scholarly yet uniquely whimsical fashion.

Opera and its characters is a new book by Francis Keeping and Roberta Prada, Vox Mentor LLC, New York City, 96 pages, 21 full color plates.