"Bostridge uniquely combines the gifts of a celebrated tenor with the gifts of a professional historian. The result in these remarkable essays is an exploration of both the emergence of certain powerful musical compositions and the experience of performing them. These 'hidden histories, ' as Bostridge calls them, at once complicate and intensify our responses to the works of art he so effectively brings to life."– "Stephen Greenblatt, author of 'Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare'"