Books by Michael Ewans

Explores how classical Greek tragedy and epic poetry have been appropriated in opera, through eight selected case studies, ranging from Monteverdi's "Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria", drawn from Homer's "Odyssey", to Mark-Antony Turnage's "Greek", based on Sophocles' "Oedipus the King".

Wagner and Aeschylus examines the role that the Oresteia played in the shaping of the Ring, showing how Aeschylus' masterpiece influenced Wagner's at many levels, from the basic idea of using mythical material for a cycle of 'stage festival dramas' right through to profound aspects of subject matter and form and Wagner's conception of the role of music in opera.