The Republic of Love: Opera and Political Freedom

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Martha C. Nussbaum (Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago)

The Republic of Love

Opera and Political Freedom

Martha C. Nussbaum (Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago)

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Oxford University Press
01 June 2026

Music; Opera; Ethics & moral philosophy; Social & political philosophy

A major work of scholarship by world-renowned, prize-winning philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum, The Republic of Love reveals opera as a profound form of political thought--and an often-overlooked force behind the political reforms of the Enlightenment.

In The Republic of Love, world-renowned philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum offers a bold and original vision of opera's contribution to political thought.

Drawing on her deep knowledge of classical and contemporary opera, she reveals how composers such as Mozart, Verdi, Strauss, Beethoven, and others used their music to explore the emotional and ethical dimensions of human life. These works, she argues, illuminate our fundamental need for dignity, love, and freedom in the face of oppressive institutions--and they gesture toward new possibilities for how we might live together.

Nussbaum devotes the first half of her book to Mozart, who embraced a new vision of freedom, writing male characters singing in a new emotional landscape, one that elevated the freedom of others. Her readings of The Marriage of Figaro, Idomeneo, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and Così Fan Tutte show an artist who recognized the capacity for love in everyone, and advanced fertile ideas about how we might cultivate it in a new kind of republic.

The second half of her book follows this line of thought in operas by Beethoven, Verdi, Benjamin Britten, John Adams, and Jake Heggie, and their greatest antagonist, Richard Wagner, suggesting that they all, in a variety of ways, engage in conversation with Mozart and his themes of love and freedom. Throughout, Nussbaum identifies a recurring operatic metaphor for the impulse toward freedom: the act of breathing itself.

A major work of scholarship by a prize-winning thinker, The Republic of Love redefines opera as a vital, if often overlooked, engine of Enlightenment ideals--and a powerful resource for imagining the emotional foundations of political life.

By: Martha C. Nussbaum (Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics University of Chicago)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780197812556
ISBN 10: 0197812554
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 01 June 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Martha C. Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. A leading scholar of wide range, she is the author of over two dozen books, including The Fragility of Goodness, Creating Capabilities, Upheavals of Thought, Anger and Forgiveness, Justice for Animals, and most recently The Tenderness of Silent Minds: Benjamin Britten and his War Requiem (2024). She is the recipient of the 2016 Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy, the 2018 Berggruen Prize, and the 2021 Holberg Prize.

Reviews for The Republic of Love: Opera and Political Freedom

More than an opera book, more than a philosophy book, Martha C. Nussbaum's The Republic of Love brings new philosophical insights to the world of Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner. Every page sparkles with wisdom, delight, and a genuine love of opera. An extraordinary achievement. * Alexander Rehding, Fanny Peabody, Professor of Music, Harvard University *