Wagner's Ring cycle and the Greeks / Daniel H. Foster.
Through his reading of primary and secondary classical sources, as well as his theoretical writings, Richard Wagner developed a Hegelian-inspired theory linking the evolution of classical Greek politics and poetry. This book demonstrates how, by turning theory into practice, Wagner used this evoluti...
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| Alternate Title: | Ring cycle and the Greeks |
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| Online Access: | Electronic book from EBSCO |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: | Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010. |
| Series: | Cambridge studies in opera.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Through his reading of primary and secondary classical sources, as well as his theoretical writings, Richard Wagner developed a Hegelian-inspired theory linking the evolution of classical Greek politics and poetry. This book demonstrates how, by turning theory into practice, Wagner used this evolutionary paradigm to shape the music and the libretto of the Ring cycle. Foster describes how each of the Ring's operas represents a particular phase of Greek poetic and political development: Das Rheingold and Die Walküre create epic national identity in its earlier and later stages respectively; Siegfried expresses lyric personal identity; and Götterdämmerung destructively culminates with a tragi-comedy about civic identity. This study sees the Greeks through the lens of those scholars whose work influenced Wagner most, focusing on epic, lyric, and comedy, as well as Greek tragedy. Most significantly, the book interrogates the ways in which Wagner uses Greek aesthetics to further his own ideological goals. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xx, 377 pages) : illustrations, music |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 352-362) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780511677175 0511677170 0511681666 9780511681660 9780511686153 0511686153 9780511682728 0511682727 051167628X 9780511676284 9780521517393 0521517397 0511739516 9780511739514 1107206731 9781107206731 1282536125 9781282536128 9786612536120 6612536128 0511678436 9780511678431 0511683642 9780511683640 0511679688 9780511679681 |
| Access: | Access limited to authorized users. |