| Francesco Algarotti : An ESSAY on the OPERA (Saggio Sopra l'opera in Musica) the Editions of 1755 And 1763 This book is the first translation into the English language of a comprehensive study of opera and its constituent parts by an accomplished writer of the eighteenth century. Francesco Algarotti was concerned with developing opera as drama and a move away from the elaborate formality of the Baroque to a more naturalistic style. The Essay in its original Italian had considerable influence on the reform opera of Christoph Willibald Gluck. Robin Burgessis by profession a Catholic priest with degrees in Classics and Theology, who has had training in singing and taken part in recitals and concerts. He has a special devotion to opera in the Eighteenth Century, and in particular the works of Gluck. |