The Standard Operas

The Standard Operas, subtitled Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers, is a book by George P. Upton. The preface says the compiler's object is to present to the reader a brief but comprehensive sketch of each of the operas contained in the modern repertory. The preface says that in each case the compiler presented a necessarily brief sketch of the composer, the story of each opera, the general character of the music, its prominent scenes and numbers, and the date of first performances.

One plot summary has the Count enter in wild excitement over the announcement that the crown jewels have been stolen, and Don Henrique's ring is recognized as one of them. One entry says that the next year (1788) the opera was brought out in Vienna, and for this production he wrote four new numbers, among them a recitative and aria for Donna Elvira. One sketch says that at the age of fourteen he wrote his first opera, "Das Waldmädchen," which was performed several times during the year 1800.