"le grand macabre" falls at a point when ligeti's style was undergoing a significant change—apparently effecting a complete break with his approach in the 1960s. from here onward, ligeti adopts a more eclectic manner, re-examining tonality and modality (in his own words, "non-atonal" music). in the opera, however, he does not forge a new musical language. the music instead is driven by quotation and pastiche, plundering past styles through allusions to claudio monteverdi, gioachino rossini, and giuseppe verdi .