Deviant Opera

"What if opera's fascination with fetish iconography were not mere stylistic overlay, but rather an invitation to read contemporary opera as sadomasochistic power exchange? This is Axel Englund's central provocation in Deviant Opera--one that yields fresh insight into the workings of BDSM play, performance, and transgression on and off stage."--Margot Weiss, author of Techniques of Pleasure: BDSM and the Circuits of Sexuality "Smart, brave, and deeply knowledgeable. Opera criticism does not get better than this."--Lawrence Kramer, author of The Hum of the World: A Philosophy of Listening "Any opera lover who dismisses a BDSM-inflected opera production as simply the latest Regietheater fad needs to read this riveting study. Englund uncovers surprisingly analogous connections between BDSM (its conventions, "transgressions," and semiotics) and opera--a cultural practice that has luxuriated in extremes of sexuality, violence, and power for four centuries."--Kristi Brown-Montesano, author of Understanding the Women of Mozart's Operas