Wikipedia:WikiProject Opera/Article styles and formats

Here are some suggested formats:

Opera (title) articles

Sections

For stub and start class articles:

Introduction: name, language, composer, librettist, general historical and musical context.

==Performance history== from premiere(s) to the present day

==Roles== possibly in tabular form giving name, description, voice type and creator of each role.

==Synopsis== (including noted arias formatted as in Un ballo in maschera, without title translation, or Turandot, with title translation.) See below for example.

==Selected recordings== divided into audio and video (with catalogue numbers when possible)

==Sources== printed (including ISBN when possible) and online works (including access date)

==External links== for online resources

For articles that are aiming at either good article or featured article status, the following extra sections are recommended:

==Context and analysis== - puts the work in context and provides a certain degree of sourced analysis.

==Recording history== - recommended for particularly well-known operas (and articles on specific composers)

==References== - provides more details of the sources used for the article, with ISBNs where possible.

An extra section entitled Notes for inline citations may also be helpful, depending upon what citing format is being used.

Dates of premieres

References may be linked to 'Year in music' pages, for example "The opera was first performed in Prague on 31 March 1928" - coded as "The opera was first performed in [[Prague]] on 31 March [[1928 in music#Opera|1928]]."

Wikilinking the day and month is unnecessary when the 'Year in music' style is used.

Role tables

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 2 January 1843 (Conductor: Richard Wagner)
The Dutchman	bass-baritone	Johann Michael Wächter
Senta, Daland's daughter	soprano	Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient
Daland, a Norwegian sailor	bass	Friedrich Traugott Reinhold
Erik, a huntsman	tenor	Carl Risse
Mary, Senta's nurse	contralto	Thérèse Wächter
Daland's Steersman	tenor	Wenzel Bielezizky
Norwegian sailors, the Dutchman's crew, young women

• For multiple premieres format, refer sample in Don Carlos or header below:-

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 27 April 1720 (Conductor: - )	Revised version Premiere Cast, 28 December 1720 (Conductor: - )	Revised version Premiere Cast, Date Month, 1728 (Conductor: - )

• For the unknown conductor, refer header below:-

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 2 January 2007 (Conductor: - )

Synopsis format

Articles such as I masnadieri or La fanciulla del West illustrate the format:

I masnadieri:

==Synopsis==

Setting: Germany, between 1755 and 1757.

====Act 1====

Scene 1: A tavern on the borders of Saxony.

During a break from his studies at Dresden University, Carlo, etc.

or from La fanciulla:

==Synopsis==

Time:1849 to 1850.

Place: A mining camp in the high Sierra Madre Mountains in California.

=== Act I ===

Inside the Polka Saloon.

At the saloon, Sheriff Rance is playing solitaire, while etc....

Line 1: In each case, the word "Act" is in bold face and forms a sub-heading of the section's title for editing purposes.

Line 2: If an act has several scenes, the scene number - then colon - then description of the setting follows on a separate line in italics.

If there are no scenes, a description of the setting for the act follows in italics.

Lines 3+: Text of synopsis follows.

Selected recordings (short style)

Krenek: Jonny spielt auf - Vienna State Opera Orchestra

• Conductor: Heinrich Hollreiser
• Principal singers: Lucia Popp, Gerd Feldhoff, Thomas Stewart, Leo Heppe, Evelyn Lear
• Recording date: January 4, 1994
• Label: Vanguard Classics - B0000023F7 (CD)

Selected recordings (table style)

Year	Cast (Radames, Aida, Amneris)	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1986	Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Chiara, Ghena Dimitrova	Lorin Maazel, La Scala orchestra and chorus	DVD: Image Entertainment ASIN: B00002NDLW
1989	Plácido Domingo, Aprile Millo, Dolora Zajick	James Levine, Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus	DVD: Deutsche Grammophon ASIN: B000050X2Z

Remarks:

• Selected recordings as it is called are for notable /outstanding recordings only. Do not list all recordings made for the opera.
• Refer Aida#Selected_recordings or Turandot#Selected_recordings

Opera composer articles

Lists of operas

The recommended table format is based on the Mozart opera list:

Köchel No.	Year composed	Title	Type of opera	Librettist	Voice parts	First performance details
K.35	1767	Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebotes Part I Eng: The Obligation of the First Commandment	Sacred Singspiel	Ignaz von Weiser	3 soprano, 2 tenor	Archbishop's Palace, Salzburg, 12 March 1767

(For the whole table see List of Mozart's operas.)

Sources and references

'Sources' are general and 'references' are specific (linked to particular sentences in the text).

Books:

• Smith, J (2005), Dutch Citing Practices, The Hague: Holland Research Foundation.

Online references:

• Bowcott, O (2005, 18 October), "Protests halt online auction to shoot stag", The Guardian. Accessed 7 Feb 06.

Remarks:

• See the Online research page for more detailed guidance on referencing online sources.