xviii, 376, v, [1] pp. Translated into English, with an introduction and notes, by Jacques Barzun. Originally published in 1852, the book is framed as a series of twenty-five "evenings" during which musicians in an orchestra at a provincial theater - bored by the mediocre operas they are forced to play - engage in witty storytelling, gossip, and sharp critical debates to pass the time.
