Nussbaum's new book: opera and political freedom

Martha Nussbaum's new book, The Republic of Love: Opera and Political Freedom, was published by Oxford University Press on 16 April 2026. The 312-page study treats opera not merely as an art form but as a force within political thought.

Starting from Mozart#

The first half of the book is given to Mozart. On Nussbaum's account Mozart proposes not only a musical but a new emotional and political landscape: dignity, freedom and the moral demands of common life.

The second half traces that influence:

• Beethoven's humanism
• Verdi's social conscience
• Britten's moral questioning
• John Adams's contemporary political engagement
• Jake Heggie's investigations of empathy

Wagner is positioned against that line, as the principal voice opposing Mozart's ideals.

Breathing#

One metaphor recurs throughout: breathing as opera's counterpart to the impulse of freedom. Nussbaum makes the emergence of voice from the body a measure of political action.

Known for the capabilities approach and her theory of the emotions, Nussbaum here continues a body of work that keeps philosophy and the theory of art in contact.