This book explores the tense relationship between opera and tragedy – often described as antithetical forms of theatre – from the 1630s to the 1780s.

Blair Hoxby is a professor of English at Stanford University.

John D. Lyons, Commonwealth Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia:
“Blair Hoxby has given us a wonderful panorama of the myriad dramatic and lyric forms that make up the universe of tragedy in European early modernity. The substantial introduction gives a wide-ranging historical and theoretical overview of regular tragedy, tragédie lyrique, pastoral, opera, ballet, machine plays, and other forms frequently neglected in courses and surveys of drama. The ten focused chapters that follow, written by recognized experts, illuminate specific cases, thematics, and genres. This is one of the most important books on early drama in several decades.”