Wagner Without Fear

Author: William Berger
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307756343
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 466

Book Description
Do you cringe when your opera-loving friends start raving about the latest production of Tristan? Do you feel faint just thinking about the six-hour performance of Parsifal you were given tickets to? Does your mate accuse you of having a Tannhäuser complex? If you're baffled by the behavior of Wagner worshipers, if you've longed to fathom the mysteries of Wagner's ever-increasing popularity, or if you just want to better understand and enjoy the performances you're attending, you'll find this delightful book indispensable. William Berger is the most helpful guide one could hope to find for navigating the strange and beautiful world of the most controversial artist who ever lived. He tells you all you need to know to become a true Wagnerite--from story lines to historical background; from when to visit the rest room to how to sound smart during intermission; from the Jewish legend that possibly inspired Lohengrin to the tragic death of the first Tristan. Funny, informative, and always a pleasure to read, Wagner Without Fear proves that the art of Wagner can be accessible to everyone. Includes: - The strange life of Richard Wagner--German patriot (and exile), friend (and enemy) of Liszt and Nietzsche - Essential opera lore and "lobby talk" - A scene-by-scene analysis of each opera - What to listen for to get the most from the music - Recommended recordings, films, and sound tracks

Wagner Without Fear

Author: William Berger
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0375700544
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 466

Puccini Without Excuses

Author: William Berger
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307542904
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 482

Book Description
Puccini is the most beloved composer of opera in the world: one quarter of all opera performances in the U.S. are of his operas, his music pervades movie soundtracks, and his plots have infiltrated our popular culture. But, although Puccini’s art still captivates audiences and the popularity of such works as Tosca, La Bohéme, and Madama Butterfly has never waned, he has long been a victim of critical snobbery and cultural marginalization. In this witty and informative guide for beginners and fans alike, William Berger sets the record straight, reclaiming Puccini as a serious artist. Combining his trademark irreverent humor with passionate enthusiasm, Berger strikes just the right balance of introductory information and thought-provoking analysis. He includes a biography, discussions of each opera, a glossary, fun facts and anecdotes, and above all keen insight into Puccini’s enduring power. For anyone who loves Puccini and for anyone who just wonders what all the fuss is about, Puccini Without Excuses is funny, challenging, and always a pleasure to read. INCLUDES: • Why Puccini’s art and its message of hope is crucial to our world today • How Anglo audiences often miss the mythic significance of his operas • The use of his music as shorthand in films, from A Room with a View to Fatal Attraction • A scene-by scene analysis of each opera • A guide to the wealth of available recordings, books, and videos

Decoding Wagner

Author: Thomas Robert May
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Unlock the world of Richard Wagner and his works, his monumental achievements, and, ultimately, the great emotional power inherent in his art. The accompanying book provides a fresh overview of his significance for contemporary audiences and culture. 2 CDs.

Walking Without Skin - A Journey of Healing

Author: Ricky Woods
Publisher: Tw Publishers
ISBN: 9781990968464
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Book Description
Walking Without Skin is compelling reading. An authentic narrative voice reflects the arduous journey of Lois Wagner through a series of life crises emanating from her violent attack and rape at her Cape Town office one New Year's weekend, culminating years later in her finding the courage to attend her attacker's parole hearing to forgive him, and in so doing setting herself free. Brutally honest but poignant, there are occasional glimpses of the woman Lois was before this terrible event: active, athletic, adventurous, with a strong circle of friends. Her subsequent decline into depression, overeating and -drinking and withdrawal from all her previous business leadership roles finds her betrayed by her business partner, unemployed, and facing an enormous backlog of bills. Determined to discover meaning in the midst of the horror, Lois begins to write Walking Without Skin, and to connect with women in similar situations. She writes letters, lobbies those with influence, uses the media to focus on the rape crisis situation in the country. Walking Without Skin simply had to be written. Lois needed to tell her story -to put this trauma behind her. Her learning and growth can support others who have experienced the hurt, but have not not yet found the healing and freedom that comes from forgiveness.

Richard Wagner

Author: Martin Geck
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226924629
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 463

Book Description
“[An] intriguing exploration of the composer’s life and thought as exemplified by his music. An excellent biography.” —Library Journal Best known for the four-opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung, Richard Wagner (1813–83) was a conductor, librettist, theater director, and essayist, in addition to being the composer of some of the most enduring operatic works in history. Though his influence on the development of European music is indisputable, Wagner was also quite outspoken on the politics and culture of his time. His ideas traveled beyond musical circles into philosophy, literature, theater staging, and the visual arts. To befit such a dynamic figure, acclaimed biographer Martin Geck offers here a Wagner biography unlike any other, one that strikes a unique balance between the technical musical aspects of Wagner’s compositions and his overarching understanding of aesthetics. A landmark study of one of music’s most important figures “People who would like to know more about Wagner, and people who have loved his music for years . . . will find a great deal in this book to enjoy and to admire.” —Tablet “Geck describes a Wagner who is grounded, focused and even cautious, a savvy realist and ironist rather than a flamboyant, flailing ideologue . . . Suffused with his readings of contemporary productions of the operas, Geck’s musical analyses are succinct and superb” —New York Times “As an editor of Wagner’s Complete Works, Geck brings a deep familiarity with the composer to his task.” —Weekly Standard “A thoroughly approachable yet consistently provocative study.” —Thomas S. Grey, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Wagner

The Wagner Clan

Author: Jonathan Carr
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802143997
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 428

Book Description
Examines the legacy of the German composer Richard Wagner and his descendants in terms of the rise, fall, and resurrection of Germany in modern Europe.

Classical Music Without Fear

Author: Marianne Williams Tobias
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253216182
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
This book is written for the intelligent reader. It is a guide to enjoying classical music, not a textbook, and is written in everyday language. It offers some navigational aids to orient the reader within the music, and includes a glossary of terms. --introd.

Verdi With a Vengeance

Author: William Berger
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307756335
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 514

Book Description
Everything you could possibly know about Verdi and his operas, from the brilliant and humorous author of Wagner Without Fear. If you want to know why La traviata was actually a flop at its premiere in 1853, it's in here. If you want to know why claiming to have heard Bjorling's Chicago performance of Il trovatore is the classic opera fan faux pas, it's in here. Even if you just want to know how to pronounce Aida, or what the plot of Rigoletto is all about, this is the place to look. From the composer's intense hatred of priests to synopses of the operas and a detailed discography of the best recordings to buy, it can all be found in Verdi with a Vengeance. William Berger has given another improbable performance, serving up a book as thorough as it is funny and as original as it is astute, an utterly indispensable guide for novice and expert alike.

Richard Wagner and the Anti-Semitic Imagination

Author: Marc A. Weiner
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803297920
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 470

Book Description
This book addresses one of the most hotly contested debates in contemporary cultural life: the question of how anti-Semitism figures in the operas of Richard Wagner. Until now, scholars have generally acknowledged Wagner's anti-Semitism but have argued that it is irrelevant to the operas themselves. Marc A. Weiner challenges that traditional view by asserting that anti-Semitism is a crucial, pervasive feature in Wagner's operas. Weiner argues that the operas exemplify and contribute to a vast collection of images that are patently anti-Semitic - and that were readily recognized as such by nineteenth-century German audiences. These images were associated particularly with the body. Through a careful examination of Wagner's music, libretti, and stage directions, Weiner reconstructs iconographies of corporeal images - iconographies of the eye, voice, smell, gait, and sexuality - that were essential to the operas and were "associated with anti-Semitism and the longing for an imagined German community".