The contributors -- who include Susan McClary, Lawrence Kramer, Ruth Solie, Kevin Kopelson, and Richard Dellamora -- address such topics as the relationship between nationality and gender and the characteristics of opera that make it a lightning rod for political ideologies, nationalism, and sexuality.

Part I examines the origins of operatic form, Part II covers nationhood and sexual difference, and Part III focuses on genre, performance, and contemporary cultural politics. Beginning with a discussion of Kapsberger's The Apotheosis -- produced by the Jesuits in 1622 -- the book includes essays on the works of Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, and Bizet, among others. In chapters on contemporary opera, the contributors focus on the transformative impact of such phenomena as AIDS.