During the performances of fashionable operas, the musicians tell tales, read stories and exchange gossip to relieve the tedium of the bad music they are paid to perform. We are privy to 25 entertaining evenings with a fascinating group of distracted performers.

In this delightful and now classic narrative, written by the brilliant composer and critic Hector Berlioz, readers are made privy to 25 highly entertaining evenings with a fascinating group of distracted performers.