Publications

Franz Stieger’s Opernlexikon is one of the most frequently consulted of all opera catalogues. It also contains ballets, oratorios, and other stage works, all listed by title, composer, and librettist. Lists of serious operas, cross-indexing of titles, and identification of librettists are especially noteworthy. The concluding two volumes, titled Nachträge, contain corrections as well as additions. With over 60,000 titles of stage works, the Opernlexikon exceeds every other published opera catalogue in size. It provides the place and date of every work's premiere (when known), along with an identification of its genre and number of acts. The Opernlexikon is especially valuable for works written and performed before 1920. A short introduction by Franz Grasberger, librarian of the music division of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, highlights the catalogue’s value in light of previously unpublished information. Grasberger also provides biographical information, not available elsewhere, on Stieger (1843–1938).