About the Book
What is it like backstage in an opera house? Is it a madhouse of temperament and emotion, and if so, how do shows ever reach the stage.
Backstage at the Opera takes the reader on a journey through the making of one of the English National Opera's most popular and enduring operas, Xerxes.
Sarah Lenton, lecturer and tour guide for the Royal Opera House and the London Coliseum, has recorded every step in the show's development, from the casting and initial set designs, to the making of costumes and props, thru to the dress rehearsals and up to the big opening night. She talks to everyone involved with the show, on stage and off, and as she does so, reveals not only a great deal about Xerxes as an opera but remarkable insight into the whole process of staging such a spectacular show.