Opera News and Other Information

Dance, drama, and theater are three forms of entertainment that I don’t partake in very frequently. Generally, I don’t really enjoy these types of events enough to seek out information and other than an occasional visit to the local dinner theater, I don’t watch very many live performances on stage. However, I do read about these types of events sometimes and my periodical of choice is Opera News, a publication about theater and theater performers.

Basic Contents of This Magazine:

With Opera News, readers get a monthly magazine with about 60 to 110 pages in each issue. The monthly departments include:

Viewpoint- F. Paul Driscoll, the Editor in Chief at Opera News, provides this opener to each issue.

Operawatch- This is a quick summary of some of the notable opera performances scheduled in the not too distant future.

On the Beat- Here, readers will find some newsworthy stories.

Sound Bites- This department is a brief, two- page bio on a famous opera star, complete with one large photo and some facts about the person.

In Review- Different cities are spotlighted here, with some quick information about the opera season just ahead.

Recordings- Here, you will find reviews of some recent CD releases.

Video- Operas on DVD are reviewed here.

Books- Books about opera are reviewed in this section.

Dateline- This is a calendar of events for some of the larger cities and opera markets.

Coda- The closer to each issue, this one- page article discusses a varied topic each month, with input from a guest journalist.


Featured articles make up the remainder of Opera News. There are about eight to ten of these articles and they can cover practically anything relating to opera.

Cost to Subscribe:

Opera News is offered to subscribers at the standard cost of about $22 for twelve monthly issues. At this price, each issue sells for about $1.83, making the base price about 54 percent less than paying the cover price. Prices vary by site, however, so it isn’t too difficult to find a better deal with a little bit of internet searching.

Magazine Website/Customer Service:

Finding out about this magazine on the world wide web is as simple as logging into the web site, operanews.com. You have to be a Guild member or Opera News subscriber to access some of the material in the web site, but there is enough available for general viewing to give potential subscribers a good idea what the magazine is like. Customer service can be contacted by following the link in the web site.

Final Thoughts:

Opera News is a magazine dedicated to opera and the individual talents that contribute to the full opera production. This magazine offers a way to find out dates for upcoming operas; backgrounds on some of the more popular opera stars; reviews of operas and opera related media; interviews; etc.

I am not a man of the arts by any stretch and it’s a rare day that finds me sitting in a theater seat, watching a bunch of stage performers sing and dance. I have been known to visit a dinner theater every now and then (mainly because I can eat and drink while watching the show). But other than this, my interest in this type of entertainment is very limited.

So why, do you ask, would someone like me read a magazine like Opera News? Well, I won’t lie to anyone- the reason I started to read this magazine was because of a complimentary subscription offer I received via the internet. Had this not happened, it is very unlikely I ever would have read Opera News. But now that I have been exposed to this magazine for almost a year, I can understand fully why fans of opera enjoy it so much. It covers the big operas, the big stars, and much more.

Articles about specific performers are common in this magazine but Opera News isn’t just a magazine about opera performers and the long hours they labor for their chosen profession. No, this magazine offers more than that and there is something for any lover of entertainment to enjoy. There are plenty of reviews of operas, DVD, CD, and books; interviews with stars; and plenty of news and official information. The fact that the name of the magazine includes the word “News” is no accident, for Opera News is exactly that: a news source for all things opera and opera related.

Since I have limited interest in watching operas, I tend to gloss over the interviews and bios (I have no idea who these people are anyway). My favorite sections are those that cover news stories and the reviews at the end of the magazine. The news articles are usually good and I like the featured articles that talk about opera history and other like topics. And, as an avid reader, I like reading the book reviews even though I am unlikely to ever purchase one of these books.

Overall, Opera News is a magazine that every opera lover should read. I am not a fan of opera and theater but even I have found some reading value with this magazine. Its subject is one with limited appeal, but its value is obvious, even to someone like me who has little interest in this topic.