The Politics of Opera: A History from Monteverdi to Mozart

Review\n"This subtly insightful book helps readers experience these timeless masterpieces anew."―Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs\n"The Politics of Opera . . . has boldly placed Machiavelli and early modern political theory at the center of the early history of opera."―Larry Wolff, New York Review of Books\n"Cohen brings a music lover’s avidity and scholar’s lucidity to the ever-changing relationship between the operatic stage and the political world. His invigorating book gives art and ideology their due―a rare achievement."―Jed Perl, author of Magicians and Charlatans\n"The deep research and clear prose here hit a high C."―Anne McElvoy, Evening Standard\n"When Mitchell Cohen sees and hears an opera, he sees and hears a lot. . . . [He] reveals layer upon layer, politically, socially and historically."―Jay Nordlinger, Weekly Standard\n"A tour de force."―Julie Otsuka, author of The Buddha in the Attic\nA wide-ranging look at the interplay of opera and political ideas through the centuries\nThe Politics of Opera takes readers on a fascinating journey into the entwined development of opera and politics, from the Renaissance through the turn of the nineteenth century. What political backdrops have shaped opera? How has opera conveyed the political ideas of its times? Delving into European history and thought and music by such greats as Monteverdi, Lully, Rameau, and Mozart, Mitchell Cohen reveals how politics―through story lines, symbols, harmonies, and musical motifs―has played an operatic role both robust and sotto voce. This is an engrossing book that will interest all who love opera and are intrigued by politics.