Said on OperaOne of the late twentieth century's most celebrated and influential public intellectuals, Edward W. Said was also a critic of astonishing range. This book presents his insightful and elegant analyses of four major operas originally delivered as the Empson Lectures at Cambridge University in 1997 showcasing the power of Said's critical acumen to unsettle canonical interpretations. In close readings of Mozart's Cos fan tutte, Beethoven's Fidelio,