Richard Wagner and the Politics of Music-Drama
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8957197 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marianne Berry (0000-0002-2467-059X, Westinghouse Electric (United States), corresponding author), Mark Berry (0000-0001-6267-9192) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 663-683 |
| Publication date | 2004-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Historical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-246X • E-ISSN: 1469-5103 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0018246x04003905 |
| OpenAlex | W2043256725 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
This article outlines Richard Wagner's conception of music-drama during the period in which he formulated his intentions for composition of the epic Ring of the Nibelung . Attempting to renew rather than to restore the communal, political nature of Attic tragedy, he wished to transform that model from celebration of the Athenian political order into a savage critique of the contemporary political order, indeed into an incitement to and celebration of revolution. Wagner was determined to restore the dignity of art, a dignity he believed to have been lost in the pursuit of base, commercial considerations; but this determination should not be confused with the idea of art for art's sake. Instead, he wished to renew art in a socialist, even communist, sense as the paradigm of free, productive activity. The direct revolutionary experience of participation in the Dresden uprising of 1849 bolstered his conviction of the necessity of such a transformation. With his magnum opus , Wagner wrote, he intended to ‘make clear to the men of the Revolution the meaning of that Revolution, in its noblest sense’
Aesthetics · Art · Communism · Dignity · Drama · Literature · Magnum opus · Order (exchange · Political science · Politics · Tragedy (event · Cinema and Media Studies · History · Law · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Philosophy · Theater, Performance, and Music History
| Citations per year | 0.6 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2016 - 2019 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |