This book is interesting enough in the fact that it features some of the historic opera houses from around the country. However, I believe that the book is overpriced. There are only black and white photos in this paperback book. The paper used is that of average paperback book quality. If you looked at this book not knowing the retail price, I guarantee that anyone would not guess the selling price to be over ... I'd be interested in knowing how a paperback book of this print quality could retail for ... Again, the book is interesting for anyone interested in historic theatres and opera houses but the price is a little steep.

This type of book was long overdue. America has a rich history of opera houses and of opera, that until this book was terribly neglected. It is a well organized, thoughtfully written book, that covers opera houses from the first ones built in the 1700s to the most recent. There is also a plea to preserve our heritage instead of destroying it, using as an example the razing of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, instead of converting it to another function, like the Opera Garnier in Paris, which was converted into a ballet theater. But now opera is again gracing the stage. There are many very interesting photos of the the opera houses, but it is a pity they could not have been in color, or at least some of them. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful resource for the opera houses in this country. And the short outline of history of opera in America is also very useful. I would highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in opera or architecture.

I originally bought this book so that I could research the many opera houses that singer Johnny Mathis has played, since nine times out of ten, he performs with an orchestra in these venues when not at the casinos. Some of them, like the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, and the Seattle Center Opera House and the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida are places he's played that are in this book, yet some of them, like the Morton Meyerson in Dallas, the Davies Symphony Center in San Francisco, and the great Carnegie Hall in New York City aren't mentioned, possibly because although similar, they weren't built expressly for opera. I don't know. But they are all wonderful venues for vocal entertainment.

But these beauties aren't just pretty façades! Their form has a function, as well. Being a physics major, I've always had an interest in how these special arenas are constructed. For me, where Mrs. Zietz succeeds is her thorough descriptions of some of the finer examples. Her pictures are wonderful and plentiful...I just wish a few could have been in color.

The author makes a plea of sorts to save the older opera houses rather than razing them to build new ones. Because of possible asbestos worries, I'm not sure how feasible that is, but I will agree that these architectural wonders do deserve at least a little consideration of their cultural past.