New Books in Critical Theory Caitlin Vincent, "Opera Wars: Inside the World of Opera and the Battles for Its Future" (Simon and Schuster, 2026)
Jan 9, 2026
Caitlin Vincent, a Senior Lecturer in Creative Industries and a librettist, dives deep into the opera industry, examining its past and future. She shares her multifaceted background as a singer, director, and researcher. The conversation highlights the ongoing battles over staging, casting diversity, and the pressures of gig economies on performers. Vincent also addresses the challenge of embracing new works while being anchored to traditional operatic canon. Her insights push for a reevaluation of how companies can attract modern audiences and innovate within this timeless art form.
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Insider Love-Hate With Opera
- Caitlin Vincent describes her long, mixed relationship with opera after training as a professional singer and running a small company.
- Her insider perspective shapes the book and drove her to unpack opera's four-century baggage.
Opera As A Total Work Of Art
- Opera combines music, text (libretto) and staged visual performance into a single art form aiming to be a 'total work of art'.
- That historical ideal drives perpetual tension between art forms and fuels opera's four-century continuity.
Built-In Economic Unsustainability
- Opera began as costly courtly entertainment funded by nobles and has always required patrons or subsidy.
- This economic baggage makes it inherently difficult to sustain commercially even after becoming a public art form.
