Author: William KindermanPublisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1571132376
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 376
Book Description
New essays demonstrating and exploring the abiding fascination of Wagner's controversial work.
Studies in Musical Genesis, Structure, and Interpretation
Author: William KindermanPublisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195366921
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
This study explores the evolution of the text and music of this inexhaustible yet highly controversial music drama across Wagner's entire career, and offers a reassessment of the ideological and political history of 'Parsifal' that illuminates the connection of Wagner's legacy to the rise of National Socialism in Germany. The compositional genesis is traced through many unfamiliar sketches and manuscript sources held at Bayreuth, revealing unsuspected models and veiled connections to Wagner's earlier works.
Author: Lucy BeckettWagner's Parsifal
Author: Roger ScrutonPublisher: Allen Lane
ISBN: 9780241419694
Category : Redemption
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
This short but penetrating book, shows us how Wagner achieves this profound work, explaining the story, its musical ideas, and their coming together into a sublime whole which gives us the musical equivalent of forgiveness and closure
Author: Richard AldrichWagner's Parsifal
Author: Richard H. BellPublisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1620328852
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
Parsifal, Wagner's final opera, is considered by many to be one of the greatest religious musical works ever composed; but it is also one of the most difficult to understand and many have questioned whether it can be considered a "Christian" work at all. Added to this is the furious debate that has surrounded the composer as an anti-Semite, racist, and inspiration for Hitler. Richard Bell addresses such issues and argues that despite any personal failings Wagner makes a fundamental theological contribution through his many writings and ultimately in Parsifal which, he argues, preaches Christ crucified in a way that can never be captured by words alone. He argues that Wagner offers a vision of the divine and a "theology of Good Friday" that can both function as profound therapy and address current theological controversies.
The Cambridge Companion to Wagner
Author: Thomas S. GreyPublisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139825941
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 692
Book Description
Richard Wagner is remembered as one of the most influential figures in music and theatre, but his place in history has been marked by a considerable amount of controversy. His attitudes towards the Jews and the appropriation of his operas by the Nazis, for example, have helped to construct a historical persona that sits uncomfortably with modern sensibilities. Yet Wagner's absolutely central position in the operatic canon continues. This volume serves as a timely reminder of his ongoing musical, cultural, and political impact. Contributions by specialists from such varied fields as musical history, German literature and cultural studies, opera production, and political science consider a range of topics, from trends and problems in the history of stage production to the representations of gender and sexuality. With the inclusion of invaluable and reliably up-to-date biographical data, this collection will be of great interest to scholars, students, and enthusiasts.
Wagner Without Fear
Author: William BergerPublisher: 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's PARSIFAL Opera Study Guide with Libretto
Author: Burton D. FisherPublisher:
ISBN: 9781942317708
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
A comprehensive new OPERA STUDY GUIDE of Richard Wagner¿s PARSIFAL, Opera Study Guide with Libretto, featuring Principal Characters in the Opera; Brief Story Synopsis; Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples; Burton D. Fisher's in depth and insightful Commentary and Analysis; and a new LIBRETTO with German and English translation in parallel (side-by-side).
Wagner and the Erotic Impulse
Author: Laurence DreyfusPublisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674018818
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285
Book Description
Though his image is tarnished today by unrepentant anti-Semitism, Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was better known in the nineteenth century for his provocative musical eroticism. In this illuminating study of the composer and his works, Laurence Dreyfus shows how Wagner’s obsession with sexuality prefigured the composition of operas such as Tannhäuser, Die Walküre, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal. Daring to represent erotic stimulation, passionate ecstasy, and the torment of sexual desire, Wagner sparked intense reactions from figures like Baudelaire, Clara Schumann, Nietzsche, and Nordau, whose verbal tributes and censures disclose what was transmitted when music represented sex. Wagner himself saw the cultivation of an erotic high style as central to his art, especially after devising an anti-philosophical response to Schopenhauer’s “metaphysics of sexual love.” A reluctant eroticist, Wagner masked his personal compulsion to cross-dress in pink satin and drench himself in rose perfumes while simultaneously incorporating his silk fetish and love of floral scents into his librettos. His affection for dominant females and surprising regard for homosexual love likewise enable some striking portraits in his operas. In the end, Wagner’s achievement was to have fashioned an oeuvre which explored his sexual yearnings as much as it conveyed—as never before—how music could act on erotic impulse.
