GLUCK and the Opera, published in 1895, was Newman's first book and the first biography of the composer to be published in English. By employing the comparative method, Newman wrote what he considered to be a pioneering work of music history. Even though the book's methodology suggests the influence of many writers, Newman seems to have drawn mostly on the work of Hippolyte Taine. Taine's History of English Literature was published in 1864, translated into English in 1871, and was regarded for more than a generation afterwards as a model use of the comparative method. The critical reception of Gluck and the Opera reveals much about Newman's grasp of the comparative method and his familiarity of its application across a range of European literature. The book's critical reception shows that Newman was highly regarded by his peers as a promising music historian and biographer.

Genesis of Gluck and the Opera

Newman began the research for Gluck and the Opera some time in the late 1880s. He later wrote about the difficulties he encountered while writing it:

Newman did not explain why he chose to write on Gluck in favour of other composers whose works he admired. Henry George Farmer suggested that the motivation for the book came after Newman attended a performance of Iphigenia in 1888, which fits neatly into the timeframe when the research was undertaken.