This is my ‘calling card’. The lecture is of general interest and charts opera’s close connection with the society that is paying for it. The talk moves from the 17th and 18th century preoccupations with princely patronage, classical plots, courtly manners, high voices, enormous costumes and happy endings – through the gear change of the war and revolution to the 19th century concerns of nationalism, epic themes and doomed heroines. The talk is based on years of writing articles, programme notes, and lecturing for the Royal Opera House and the BBC.