Richard Wagner's Music Dramas

by Carl Dahlhaus, Mary Whittall (Translator)

Previous studies of Wagner's operas have tended to approach the works as chunks of autobiography, philosophical speculations or historical-political comments on the age in which they were written. Professor Dahlhaus dissociated himself from all such ventures. His aim is to reveal, by careful analysis of the works from Der fliegende Hollander to Parsifal, the dominant features of 'music drama' and how Wagner achieves such profound, unified effects. Professor Dahlhaus cites music examples only when they are germane to his argument and requires from his readers no more than a limited amount of technical musical knowledge. This is not, therefore, an exclusively specialist study. Rather it will help the enthusiastic beginner to come to terms with these great works of art as well as offering many valuable insights to the experienced Wagnerian. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of music history, theory, opera and philosophy.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

174 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Maria Thomarey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 . Το χάρηκα

[Mariusz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although assured by the publishers that the book was not aimed at musicologists, I had to conclude that it was definitely not for lay persons, either, even ones very fond of Wagner and his music. In order to be able to absorb 100% of the content, one should ideally understand the theory of music, have a solid grasp of musical notation, have a solid grounding in 19th Century German philosophy, and be very familiar with Wagner’s later works and his biographical details. Sadly, the last two were not sufficient.

This said, the book is full of fascinating detail, and (for me at least) reads somewhat easier than works by Robert Donington or Roger Scruton, quite possibly because of its structure being broken down into digestible chapters dedicated to specific music dramas. Interestingly, the chapters are quite varied, with emphasis of some (e.g. Tristan und Isolde) on musical notation, others (e.g. Lohengrin) on philosophy, while others still (the Ring, Parsifal) focused on the evolution of the dramas’ messaging in line with Wagner’s evolving philosophical outlook. Professor Dahlhaus’s analysis of the Ring’s metamorphosis, so apt for a work (or rather a series of works) which took a quarter of a century to gestate, is fascinating. Although the fact that the last of the tetralogy, Götterdämmerung, was conceived dramaturgically as the first, is reasonably well-known, the implications of this in terms of internal inconsistency were very new to me.

Overall, not an ideal book to take on holiday, but a must read for anyone seriously interested in Wagner and his music dramas.

[Lorens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and very interesting, somewhay too short musicological review of Wagner’s operas in their musicohistorical context.

[Michael Haupt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erhellend, geschrieben mit literarischer Qualität. Wie stark bei Wagner Musik und Drama Hand in Hand gehen, leuchtet Dahlhaus schlüssig aus. Eine kompakte Darstellung des Gesamtwerks.