Book excerpt: This volume is dedicated to "Serenata and Festa Teatrale in 18th Century Europe", especially to the production of this music-dramatic genre at the courts on the Iberian Peninsula, in Italy, and the Holy Roman Empire where it was an integral part of court ceremonials and a privileged ritual of repraesentatio maiestatis. The 16 studies on patrons and artists, exceptional events and local traditions, reveal highly interesting material for the research on these up to now largely neglected genre. Any approach to these works full of metaphors, symbols and allusions has to take into account the context of the celebration and the resulting multiplicity of aspects: choice of themes, dramaturgical forms, textual and musical structures, vocal and instrumental ensembles, and the various options regarding the stage apparatus. "Serenata and Festa Teatrale in 18th Century Europe", edited by Iskrena Yordanova (Lisbon) and Paologiovanni Maione (Naples), inaugurates the series "Cadernos de Queluz", a subseries of "Specula Spectacula" by Don Juan Archiv Wien.