A second edition appeared in 1868, with a dedication to the German political writer Constantin Frantz. Parts of it were published in the Monatschrift, an intellectual magazine, and the whole was published in Leipzig in 1852. He gave public readings of large extracts in Zurich in early 1851, with a dedication to Theodor Uhlig.
Wagner wrote the entire book in Zurich in four months between October 1850 and January 1851.
It follows from his earlier writings of the period 1849–50: more particularly " Art and Revolution" (1849), which sets out Wagner's ideals for an artwork that would be appropriate for his ideal society " The Artwork of the Future" (1849), which sets out ideas for a music drama which would meet such ideals and " Jewishness in Music" (1850), which (amongst other matters) Wagner attacks Jews in general and the composers Giacomo Meyerbeer and Felix Mendelssohn in particular.
As the longest of all of Wagner's literary works apart from his autobiography Mein Leben (376 pages long in its English translation), Opera and Drama is perhaps better described by the word 'treatise', as suggested by its translator W.
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