The Case of Wagner

Catalog description

Richard Wagner (1813-83) changed forever the forms, meanings, and contexts of European music, especially the symphonic and operatic traditions. He transformed the way we listen to music written before him. This course will pay close attention to several major music dramas, especially Lohengrin, The Ring of the Nibelung, and Parsifal, focusing on music, words, and the history and variety of staged productions. We will also consider Wagner’s relation to literature, philosophy, and history, including such issues as nationalism, modernism, anti-Semitism, and the persisting controversies around his work in Germany and Israel. This is an upper-level seminar but open to all.