Magic flutes & enchanted forests

By David Joseph Buch

Subjects: Theater, europe, history, Opera, Mozart, wolfgang amadeus, 1756-1791, Musical theater, Europe, history, 18th century, Music and magic, History, Supernatural in musical theater

Description: Drawing on hundreds of operas, singspiels, ballets and plays with supernatural themes, this book argues that the tension between fantasy and Enlightenment-era rationality shaped some of the most important works of 18th-century musical theatre and profoundly influenced how audiences and critics responded to them.