Publisher's Synopsis
Combining detailed indices, a selected bibliography and a microfiche daily record of events and performers, this is a major reference tool for the study of early 19th-century theatre. Each season is divided into a calendar and summary. The former is a daily record of all pieces played, including titles, cast lists, scenery, music, songs, genre and sources; the latter is a conflation of the daily records to form a concise overview of the season. In addition, the summary includes such information as ticket prices, nights of performance, dates of benefits and names and duties of front-of-house personnel and backstage functionaries. The calendar and seasonal summary are on 31 microfiche of some 6300 frames.;Accompanying the fiche is a printed index in three parts: authors and titles, actors and actresses, and musicians, singers, dancers and entertainers. Each of these sections is preceded by a detailed introduction on its use and value. Because there is no history of the Adelphi, scholars will find the chronologies preceding each seasonal summary valuable in providing an overall view of the first 50 years of the theatre's existence.;Theatre scholars, musicologists, historians, sociologists, opera enthusiasts, art historians, and students of popular culture should find this reference work on the West End theatre useful.
