My reading pile has grown exponentially larger over the past few months and unfortunately has stayed that way despite conscious and time-consuming effort. It looms over my bed and is starting to totter. It sits on the right-hand corner of my desk and scowls at me. In the midst of it are three Wagner-related books: Trippett’s Wagner’s […]
A good friend met my brother a few years ago when visiting the University of Texas at Austin, where my brother was teaching. My friend reported that, after a bit of conversation, he observed that both my brother and I were “erudite.” “Yes,” my brother reportedly replied, “but I am more eruditer.” This takes us […]
Richard Wagner is not the only artist who has provoked controversy because of his non-artistic conduct. Many lovers of art have reviled the artist. We can think of Ezra Pound, Philip Larkin, Christopher Marlowe, George Gordon Lord Byron, Albert Speer, and Robert Frost among those whose art we are eager to teach our children, but […]
T The role of Siegfried is difficult for modern audiences to accept. It’s hard to admire this lout, this bully, this self-centered brute. A recent teen video restores the character of Siegfried to what one must conclude was Wagner’s original intent – as an exciting charismatic hero of durable cultural meaning – an icon. “Siegfried […]
A few years ago I was walking back to the parking lot after attending a riveting performance of Siegfried at the Met, and joined a young man waiting for the pedestrian signal to change, carrying a trumpet case and wearing formal dress. “Great show,” I said. “Yeah,” he responded. “It’s an amazing score, isn’t it?” […]
The Wagner Blog is a forum for discussion of contemporary themes arising from the works of Richard Wagner. Discussions relating to Wagner’s musical, literary, theatrical, philosophical, political and theoretic work are all appropriate for this forum.
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