Opera in the Age of Rousseau

David Charlton is Professor Emeritus, Music History, at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is a regular contributor to conferences and has sat on the Council of the Royal Musical Association and the Comité International Hector Berlioz. He has published widely on the history of opera and his books include Grétry and the Growth of Opéra-Comique (1986), E. T. A. Hoffmann's Musical Writings (1989), French Opera, 1730–1830 (2000) and The Cambridge Companion to Grand Opera (as editor, 2003).

• Part I. Princely Theatre: 1. Palaces and patronage: Le Devin and the 1754 Alceste; 2. Acting: from convention to discipline; 3. The Opéra: cycles versus changes; 4. The reality of pastoral, 1742–52; 5. Le Devin du Village: a contextual enquiry; Part II. Opinion: 6. Opera as a subject of debate; 7. The Querelle: 'two ridiculous theses'; 8. Visions of reform; Part III. Italian Opera for Paris: 9. Travelling opera; 10. 'A real kick in the backside': Bambini's performances and their effect; 11. Creative consequences; Part IV. Towards European Integration: 12. New generations, new tastes; 13. In three acts: from Zaïde to Les Paladins; 14. In three acts: the replacement of Rameau.

'The result of over a decade's research into the operatic culture of Louis XV's reign and a lifetime of careful scholarship.' The Times Literary Supplement