In The Oxford History of Opera the history and social context of opera is explored by a group of leading British and American scholars, under the editorship of Roger Parker. The core of the book is a historical survey of opera, from its beginnings in Florence 400 years ago, up to opera in the 1990s. The greatest coverage is given to the 19th century, the time during which most of the operas performed today were composed. There are also chapters on the history of staging, on opera singers, on opera as a social occasion through the ages, and a chronology. Although all major composers of opera are mentioned, and their works discussed, the various chapters concentrate less on simple historical narrative, and more on the complex development of opera, especially on its relationship with the other arts and its place within the broader world of culture and politics. The contributors have remained alive to the basic attraction of opera: its extravagant appeal to both the senses and the intellect, and its seemingly inexhaustible power to move and astonish.