Richard Wagner (1813-1883) aimed to be more than just a composer. He set
out to redefine opera as a "total work of art" combining the highest
aspirations of drama, poetry, the symphony, the visual arts, even
religion and philosophy. Equally celebrated and vilified in his own
time, Wagner continues to provoke debate today regarding his political
legacy as well as his music and aesthetic theories. Wagner and His
World examines his works in their intellectual and cultural contexts.
Seven original essays investigate such topics as music drama in light of
rituals of naming in the composer's works and the politics of genre; the
role of leitmotif in Wagner's reception; the urge for extinction in
Tristan und Isolde as psychology and symbol; Wagner as his own stage
director; his conflicted relationship with pianist-composer Franz Liszt;
the anti-French satire Eine Kapitulation in the context of the
Franco-Prussian War; and responses of Jewish writers and musicians to
Wagner's anti-Semitism. In addition to the editor, the contributors are
Karol Berger, Leon Botstein, Lydia Goehr, Kenneth Hamilton, Katherine
Syer, and Christian Thorau.
This book also includes translations of essays, reviews, and memoirs by
champions and detractors of Wagner; glimpses into his domestic sphere in
Tribschen and Bayreuth; and all of Wagner's program notes to his own
works. Introductions and annotations are provided by the editor and
David Breckbill, Mary A. Cicora, James Deaville, Annegret Fauser, Steven
Huebner, David Trippett, and Nicholas Vazsonyi.
