Opera, for those not acquainted with its conventions, can be confounding. This book contains analyses of the stories and music of nine beloved operas, presented in chronological order from the late 1700s through the early 1900s. These works are most readily approached with an understanding of the conventions of the genres, as well as the social conditions that influenced the composers and librettists. In examining each work, the various genres are explained, and the popular and intellectual movements that influenced the operas are discussed, as well as the original source material. The operas covered in the text are Mozart's The Magic Flute, Beethoven's Fidelio, Donizetti's Lucia de Lammermoor, Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Verdi's Rigoletto, Bizet's Carmen, Leonvacallo's Pagliacci, Strauss' Salome, and Brecht's The Threepenny Opera.