Opera Guide is an online portal bringing together historical information on opera houses, performances, and personalities. The database is organised into a number of subcategories making it easy to navigate. Bringing these items together in one place on a digital platform creates a publicly accessible guide to the buildings which have formed a key part of the cultural landscape of many worldwide cities, the performances which have taken place in them and the key people who have starred and created in these productions, as well as the key ‘movers and shakers’ behind the scenes.
The guide has been created and curated by Mark Scott, a PhD student at the University of Warwick. His research focusses on the relationship between performance and the architecture of performance spaces focusing on opera, but also how this critical relationship influenced/influences placemaking, culture-led regeneration, and politics. Mark also holds an MA in Theatre Consultancy from the University of Warwick, an MA in Theatre Studies (Performance and the City) from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, as well as an undergraduate degree from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. In addition, Mark was also one of the judges for the opera categories of the Laurence Olivier Awards in 2018.
Opera Guide has been supported with funding provided by the Society for Theatre Research.
