Opera's Second Death is a passionate exploration of opera - the genre, its masterpieces, and the nature of death. Using a dazzling array of tools, Slavoj Zizek and coauthor Mladen Dolar explore the strange compulsions that overpower characters in Mozart and Wagner, as well as our own desires to die and to go to the opera.
...provides many new and remarkable conclusions from a contemporary, Eastern European point of viewthat will interest opera specialists and cultural historians. -- A.M. Hanson, Ihoice
...an engaging and frequently illuminating commentary on the impulses, desires and fantasies that enrich both our own lives and those of the colorful characters that populate our favorite operas. -- Barry Millington, BBCMusic Magazine Direct
Slavoj Zizek is Researcher at the University of Ljubljana. Among his many books are The Fragile Absolute and TheTicklish Subject. Mladen Dolar is Professor of Philosopy at the University of Ljubljana.