OPERA IN CONTEXT
Not every opera ages well. We are committed to constructive conversation and debate about opera’s creators, storylines, and other historical elements of the works we perform.
RICHARD WAGNER (1813—1883)
Revolutionary. Egomaniac. Influencer. Antisemite. Philanderer. Historian. Debtor. Agitator. Human. Opera’s Sacred Monster.
Composer and librettist Richard Wagner set out to change the world every time he put ink to paper. He spent 28 years crafting the Ring Cycle: a four-opera epic of escalating crimes against humanity and the natural world that he believed could be healed by all-encompassing, infinite love. Das Rheingold is the first opera in the Cycle.
Beyond his musical and theatrical works, Wagner designed and built the Bayreuth opera house and summer festival, radically altered the theatrical environment, invented musical instruments, fled lenders, escaped arrest, lived in exile, and launched a family dynasty that remains in charge at Bayreuth today.
He was also a deeply flawed human being, one of many prominent and outspoken antisemites in Western society at that time. He wrote, published, and re-published articles whose concepts and conclusions we condemn in the strongest terms today.
Decades after his death and further complicating his legacy, family members befriended Adolf Hitler, who visited and attended performances at Bayreuth between 1923 and 1940.
Reckoning with divisive figures like Wagner means holding opposing truths and examining complex histories through a lens of contemporary perspective. We believe there is still much to learn from Das Rheingold and other powerful works of art that critique the best and worst of humanity and offer inspiring world-changing lessons for us all.
RESOURCES
A .pdf with these resources and more is available here.
Wagner’s Complicated Legacy
Stephen Fry – Wagner & Me
(Wavelength Films in association with the BBC, 2010)
A worthy introduction to Wagner’s life and complicated legacy, hosted by Jewish actor, director, and writer Stephen Fry during his first visit to the Bayreuth Opera House and Festival.
Alex Ross on the Wagner Vortex
(New Yorker Festival, 2012)
https://www.newyorker.com/video/watch/alex-ross-on-the-wagner-vortex
WAGNER: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art
(University of Toronto Press, 1999)
A worthy introduction to Wagner’s life and complicated legacy, hosted by Jewish actor, director, and writer Stephen Fry and documenting his first visit to the Bayreuth Opera House and Festival.
Aspects of Wagner
(Oxford University Press, 2009)
A concise and insightful analysis of the ways in which Wagner has inspired both greater adulation and more intense loathing than any other composer.
the basics
Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung: A Companion
Edited by Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington
(London: Thames and Hudson, 1993)
This is the must-have/latest-and-greatest translation of Ring Cycle libretti with extensive footnotes, rejected texts, and essays worth pondering.
The Tristan Chord
By Bryan Magee
(New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2000)
Dive into one of the most enlightening explorations of Wagner’s work and its relationship to 19th-century philosophy, with a particular emphasis on Schopenhauer’s influence.
Wagner’s Ring: Turning the Sky Round
By M. Owen Lee
(New York: Limelight Editions, 1998)
A brief and extremely illuminating overview of each of the operas in the Ring cycle based on Father Owen Lee’s intermission radio features for The Metropolitan Opera.
The Sorcerer of Bayreuth: Richard Wagner, his work and his world
By Barry Millington
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2012)
A comprehensive and illuminating overview of the essential aspects Wagner’s life and works through up-to-date specifics that inspire further inquiry. An eminently enjoyable read.