Nigel Douglas, one of the most versatile figures in international opera, has produced the perfect book for all lovers of this extravagant, enthralling art form. Ranging across several continents and as many centuries, this lavish volume begins with the prima donna and her male counterpart, examining the lives of some of opera's most colorful performers. Douglas also provides lively commentary on the filming and recording of opera, controversial directors, venues both fabulous and not, the pleasures and pitfalls of the singing life, and those quintessentially operatic topics: drink and seduction. Boldly mixing musical history, biography, gossip, and anecdote, Nigel Douglas has brilliantly captured the pleasures of opera.