In her entertaining new book Opera Wars: Inside the World of Opera and the Battles for its Survival, Caitlin Vincent takes a lively, illuminating, insightful and, at times, irreverent look at the world of opera. Drawing on interviews with two dozen insiders, as well as her own experience as a classically trained singer, award-winning librettist, opera company director and arts commentator, she unravels the clichés that plague the art form and addresses the challenges it faces today. In this extract, she talks with several composers about the fear often associated with contemporary opera.

Caitlin Vincent. Photo © Ruth Schwarzenholz Photography

Fear has long been a major hurdle to opera’s survival. Because when people are afraid of it, they don’t generally buy tickets. For first timers in...