Contents

• Judith Weir : Preface


• Francesca Chiarelli : Florence and the Origins of Opera


• Marie-Claude Canova-Green : In the Service of the King: Politics and the Ballet de Cour


• Sara Smart : David Schirmer's Ballet von dem Paris und der Helena (1650): An Example of Early German Musical Drama


• Mara Wade : Politics and Performance: Saxon-Danish Court Festivals (1548-1709)


• Jean Andrews : Montezuma and Il Guarany: Indians at the Opera


• Hanne Castein : The Composer as Librettist: Judith Weir's 'Romantic' Operas Heaven Ablaze in His Breast and Blond Eckbert