A Book of Operas Their Histories, Their Plots, and Their Music was written by Henry Krehbiel. The book begins at the beginning of opera in the United States "The history of what is popularly called Italian opera begins in the United States with a performance of Rossini's lyrical comedy "Il Barbiere di Siviglia"; it may, therefore, fittingly take the first place in these operatic studies. The place was the Park Theatre, then situated in Chambers Street, east of Broadway, and the date November 29, 1825. " Operas covered in this book are Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflote, Don Giovanni, Fidelio, Faust, Mefistofele, La Damnation de Faus, La Traviata, Aida, Der Freischutz, Tannhauser, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Lohengrin, and Hansel und Gretel