Immerse yourself in the captivating and surprisingly contentious world of opera with this compelling unveiling of the art form’s bold characters and the fierce struggles that are redefining its future.

“Opera breeds fanatics. There are opera groupies. Opera diehards. Opera obsessives. And I’m not one of them.” With these words, Caitlin Vincent—who admits to a lifelong love-hate relationship with opera—pulls us into a thrilling, high-stakes world that few ever see. It’s all here—both edge-of-the-seat drama and cultural clashes that often spill beyond the stage and get audiences and critics thoroughly riled up.

Vincent, an award-winning librettist and trained vocalist, draws on her extensive experience and intimate interviews with twenty-nine opera insiders to unravel the complex tapestry of opera’s inner workings. From tension-filled rehearsal rooms to the grandeur of the stage, she exposes a world driven by fierce rivalries, economic pressures, and stubborn resistance to change. With humor and irreverence, she runs straight at opera’s thorniest issues—its struggles with racial and gender biases, the weight of tradition, and the agonized debate over whether to remain loyal to centuries-old composers. But this isn’t just a tale of bare-knuckled battles over political correctness. Vincent makes us feel the magic of a live performance, even if we’ve never seen one; she dissects the cutthroat process of becoming a professional opera singer; and she examines how competition shapes the art form.

Whether you’re an opera devotee or a total newcomer, you’ll find Vincent’s irreverent wit and passion irresistible. Opera Wars is a must-read for anyone eager to glimpse the drama, beauty, and battles that have kept this art form alive for centuries and will undoubtedly bring to it badly needed change in the years ahead.

Caitlin Vincent is an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director, and arts commentator. Her librettos have won all three of America’s top opera prizes: the Sackler Music Composition Prize (with composer Douglas Buchanan), the Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize (with composer Timothy C. Takach), and the 2024/25 Dominick Argento Chamber Opera Competition (with composer Douglas Buchanan). In addition, her vocal work is featured on the Grammy Award–nominated album 40@40. Vincent was the artistic director of The Figaro Project from 2009 to 2014. She holds a PhD from Deakin University (Australia), an MM in vocal performance from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins, and a BA in history and literature from Harvard. She was born in the US but currently makes her home in Melbourne, Australia.