Sing Sorrow Classics, History, and Heroines in Opera

Opera has often used classical literature as a means of expressing the most vital concerns of the period in which the operas were written. Sing Sorrow explores the classical roots of many noted operas, illustrating the ways in which the operas reflected the political concerns of their time through these ancient narratives. McDonald pays particular attention to the female opera character as heroine. Through the lens of the classics, Sing Sorrow approaches opera from a unique aesthetic and cultural standpoint, giving a new perspective to both opera and its literary and dramatic ancestors.