Drama. Music. Opera. This innovative opera was developed and performed in the 1980s, widely praised internationally, and reviewed. This book is the first publication of the entire libretto, with an afterword by Robert Ashley. ATALANTA is the second in a cycle of three operas (PERFECT LIVES and Now Eleanor's Idea being the first and third) which have defined Robert Ashley as the single most important figure in American experimental music theater. The operas--particularly this one--are complex. It takes many listenings to explore the levels which Ashley combines effortlessly in his librettos. It has to be said also that he is a fine writer of prose and the depth of these works reflects the quality of a highly developed literary mind as well as that of a first rate composer. Having read the libretto several times now, I can say that the text is as inexhaustibly rich as that of PERFECT LIVES--Paul Schultze, The Wire.