The book delves into the representation of ancient religions and the Orient in operas and incidental music by renowned composers like Beethoven, Mozart, and Wagner. It enhances the understanding of classic aesthetic influences in late 18th to mid-19th century musical culture, particularly opera. The author explores Dionysian aesthetics, while also examining how music conveys ideals of heroism and patriotism, alongside the expression of human desire through sound.
Nineteenth-century composers were drawn to subjects related to gender. Songs about women open a view into nineteenth-century understandings of gender and sexuality. The author argues about ways to hear sexual difference in Lied, analyzing musical compositions in the light of composer biographies and in terms of musical gestures. Her comparison of the Suleika and Lorelei songs by Romantic composers, including the Mendelssohns and the Schumanns, reveals cultural and sexual anxieties besides conflicting arguments about music and its perception. Both the songs and their critique illustrate the functioning of gender in nineteenth-century composition and aesthetic reasoning.