(Unlocking the Masters). Ringer sheds new perspectives on Schubert's songs, focusing on their incomparable dramatic power, which often exceeds that of many a full-fledged opera. But Schubert's "stage" was not to be the public theaters of the repressive Metternich regime in Vienna, but the far less censorable "theater of the mind." Schubert's theater of song would spring to life in intimate social gatherings of like-minded friends, wherever a singer and a fortepiano were available. They rightfully belong to every music lover. This is the first introductory guide for the general reader to...

Metatheater, or "theater within theater," is a critical approach often used in studies of Shakespearian or modern drama. Breaking new ground in the study of ancient Greek tragedy, Mark Ringer applies the concept of metatheatricality to the work of Sophocles. His innovative analysis sheds light on Sophocles' technical ingenuity and reveals previously unrecognized facets of fifth-century performative irony.

Ringer analyzes the layers of theatrical self-awareness in all seven
Sophoclean tragedies, giving special attention to Electra, the
playwright's most metatheatrical...