The 1979 book by French philosopher Catherine Clément, Opera: The Undoing of Women, explores this opera in five acts that premiered at the Opéra-Comique in the early 1900 and was conducted by which conductor?
Opera: The Undoing of Women Opera: The Undoing of Women (French: "L’Opéra ou la Défaite des femmes") is a 1979 book by French philosopher Catherine Clément. In it, Clément explores the way in which traditional operatic plots often feature the death of female characters - in her words, "the infinitely repetitive spectacle of a woman who dies, murdered." Besides the literal deaths of characters such as Carmen, Cio-Cio-San, Isolde and Mélisande, Clément also discusses metaphorical deaths - for example, Turandot's power and the Marschallin's sexuality.
Leo Blech Leo Blech (21 April 1871 – 25 August 1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Opernhaus (later the Berlin State Opera / Staatsoper Unter den Linden) from 1906 to 1937, and later as the conductor of Berlin's Städtische Oper from 1949 to 1953. Blech was known for his reliable, clear, and elegant performances, especially of works by Wagner, Verdi, and Bizet's "Carmen" (which he conducted over 600 times), and for his sensitivity as an accompanist.