Jon Tolansky outlines the formation and development of the Music Research Centre (MPRC) in London and the many hurdles that had to be surmounted before its inauguration. He also provides, in the final article, a selective catalogue of the current MPRC holdings of archive-recordings, audio and video, available to visitors to the Centre's Listening Studio. The voice of the musician engaged in performing in the concert hall or opera house is rarely heard, nor do we hear from members of the audience, other than in the writings of professional critics. In Reflections, a conductor has the opportunity to respond to questions about opera in translation, and other questions relating to opera; a singer writes about the difficulties and rewards of taking the title role in three very different productions of a remarkable opera; two of London's distinguished orchestral musicians describe their journey into the profession and provide an insight into the joys and perils involved in that hazardous profess