Still lovely in its way, but the incredible proliferation of video opera over the last 25 years rather renders this volume moot. It's still an interesting read to check in on the older productions, which were often, ironically, more beautifully filmed and far more of an "event" because the work required to film and televise an opera was so much greater. The most useful information can sometimes be simply understanding different directorial approaches to the operas, even where one can no longer easily see the production in question. But many of these productions are now inaccessible, with quite a few having never made the transition even from VHS to DVD, let alone streaming. So there's only so much to be gained here. ( )