Death-Devoted Art: Edward A. and Paula M. Bortnichak review a multidisciplinary examination of the role of death in opera

The subject of this study is vast: it is an exploration of the entire genre for works in which the death of one or more principal characters appears to be unexplained, which then proceeds to uncover connections to the love/redemption themes operating in these works. The authors show that these examples of love–death (i.e. Liebestod) have a long history in art, and, although Wagner’s Isolde stands as the poster child for the phenomenon, she has many close relatives in the operatic canon, especially in the 19th century.