Phantasmagoria : the sociology of opera

This is an exploration of contemporary discourses and practices on and around opera as a cultural form.

This text examines such areas as "high art", "popular entertainment" and "star" performers.

The main aim of the book is not to give a history of opera, or to be an encyclopaedia of opera, but to provide a comprehensive sociological account of opera's current socio-cultural standing, contemporary representations of opera and opera's fragmented incorporation into mass or popular commercial culture.