This book brings together a distinguished group of scholars from music, drama, poetry, performance art, criticism, religion, classics, and philosophy to investigate the complex and developing interaction between performance and authenticity in the arts. The subjects discussed include the experiences of religious and aesthetic authenticity, the performance of music, the link of authority and sincerity and truth in poetry, and the dark side of performance—its constant susceptibility to inauthenticity. Together the essays suggest how issues of performance and authenticity enter into consideration of a wide range of the arts.