Many readers will first be drawn to the excellent synopses of the operas (including the early, unfamiliar works). Julian Rushton's contributions are exemplary. He manages to cover the sprawling plot of The Magic Flute with economy yet still find room to make an interpretive point about the Papageno-Papagena duet and address the issue of antifeminism in this work. His notes on Cosi fan tutte don't neglect the touchy subject of how the opera is supposed to end. Rushton acknowledges the difficulty of ordering the scenes in Act III of The Marriage of Figaro while still keeping the plot foremost.