The artist, Andras Kaldor, was introduced to opera as a child by his parents who held season tickets to the Budapest Opera. Although he trained as an architect, his love of the opera has proved the stronger influence and he has spent the last 12 years painting all the major opera houses in Europe. The facade of each opera house is illustrated without the distractions of surrounding buildings and street scenes. Each opera house, which has been personally visited by the artist, is first drawn in pen and ink in an architectural manner. In addition to the facades, Andras Kaldor has also added many detailed drawings of particular aspects of both the exteriors and interiors of the buildings. The text accompanying the pictures is written, by notable persons who have a personal association with the individual opera houses. Background details of the history, architecture, composers, operas and singers are given, where appropriate, there are personal anecdotes.