author

pseud. Charles Annesley

Best known for a compact opera guide first published in the early 1900s, this elusive writer helped make famous operas easier for general readers to follow and enjoy. Very little personal information appears to survive, which gives the work itself most of the spotlight.

1 Audiobook

The Standard Operaglass

The Standard Operaglass

by pseud. Charles Annesley

About the author

Charles Annesley is the name attached to The Standard Operaglass, an opera reference book published in 1910. The book was designed as a practical companion for readers and listeners, offering detailed plot summaries of well-known operas along with brief critical and biographical notes.

Project Gutenberg and library records identify the author as "Charles Annesley," and at least one catalog entry presents the name as a pseudonym. Beyond that, reliable biographical details are scarce, so it is hard to say much with confidence about the person behind the name.

What does stand out is the book's purpose: to make opera more approachable. By gathering the stories of more than a hundred celebrated works into one volume, Annesley created a useful guide for anyone who wanted to follow the drama and music with a little more ease.