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“I like the idea of opera, I just don`t know anything about it," is an all-too-common refrain among postcollegiate, culturally literate and musically savvy - but perhaps a little intimidated - twenty and thirtysomethings all over the country. Author Matt Dobkin gives us the first real guide to an often mystifying art form.

A witty, irreverent tour through opera land, ‘Getting Opera’ includes synopses of fifty operas; how to score cheap tickets; where to find opera information on the web; sidebars with surprising facts and figures such as which operas you might like depending on your astrological sign; parallels between rock music and opera (like Radiohead? Maybe you`ll enjoy Wagner); top ten (or twenty) lists covering everything from the hottest singers and stars to the most overrated; opera jokes; a guide to opera all over the country; and where to begin your CD Collection.

‘Getting Opera’ brings the elusive concepts of opera down to earth, making it accessible to fans and newcomers alike. It has everything the opera-shy reader needs to embark on a thoroughly delightful and instructive operatic journey.

It also includes some cracking opera jokes that poke fun at its main figures. Most of them have to do with the brainlessness of sopranos and tenors and with the arrogance of conductors. Here are a few:

How many sopranos does it take to change a lightbulb?
Just one. She just holds it in place, and the whole world revolves around her.

What do a conductor and a condom have in common?
It`s safer with - but more fun without.

What do you call ten baritones at the bottom of the ocean?
A good start.

What`s the difference between a soprano and a terrorist?
You can negotiate with a terrorist.

What`s the difference between a soprano and a pit bull?
The jewellery.

What do you have when a group of conductors are up to their necks in wet concrete?
Not enough concrete.

Boy Getting Opera: A Guide For The Cultured But Confused online and save some money so you can save up for a ticket to the realthing!