Considering that Francesca Gaetana Cosima Liszt Bülow Wagner was the person most responsible for framing the role of Wagner in 20th Century German cultural and political life, it is remarkable that Cosima Wagner: The Lady of Bayreuth, by Oliver Hilmes, is the first serious academic study of her life. On that ground alone the volume […]
A few weeks ago we in America celebrated Thanksgiving. Members of the family took turns around the table, saying what they were thankful for. I bit my tongue to avoid blurting out, “Barry Millington!” Ever since the 80s, when Millington and Spencer were editing the scholarly magazine for the Wagner Society (London), I have been […]
This past summer I was experiencing the regret of the “more mature” Wagnerian, when rummaging through the bookstores in Bayreuth. These places were my treasure troves 30 years ago. Now, I realized with the vague remorse of increasing age that I either had these books or knew of them and decided not to acquire them. […]
Alex Alice has written and illustrated a hardcover comic titled “Siegfried,” recently released in an English language version While the story notes in certain ways the incidents and characters of Wagner’s drama, “the preferred universe is clearly Northern European, Iceland, etc.” (p. 115) The first half of the book is a sequential telling of the story […]
Tom Artin, of Sparkill, NY, has been kind enough to send me a copy of his book The Wagner Complex: Genesis and Meaning of The Ring (Free Scholar Press 2012). It is an interpretation of the characters and action of the Ring through a Freudian lens, and it has been an interesting though challenging read. I became prejudiced and close-minded […]
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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