This module addresses one of the most controversial figures in nineteenth-century European culture, Richard Wagner (1813-1883). In part, it serves as an introduction to some of his most prominent works, including selections from the ‘Romantic’ operas, the Ring Cycle, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal. Following the trend of recent research, however, it also explores the formative paradox at the heart of Wagner’s work: his resistance to the effects of modern commodification on the artist, artworks, and theatrical life, at the same time as he clearly embraces modern techniques of self-promotion and the creation of unique artistic commodities.
Thus we also consider Wagner as a modern thinker, writer, musician, dramatist, and cultural agent. In so doing, we make a specific focus of numerous themes related to the idea of his ‘brand’: his claims about the innovation and difference of his theatrical forms, his creation of a dedicated theatre at Bayreuth, his use of burgeoning European media and travel networks, his attempts at fostering anticipation for his new works, the deliberately scandal-raising themes of some of his plots, and his shifting interactions with German politics against the background of his lifelong antisemitism. This will leads us to a closing consideration of the phenomena of Wagnerism and anti-Wagnerism across Europe, and his looming presence in twentieth-century culture and politics.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Discuss key works (or passages from works) in Wagner’s oeuvre from analytical and aesthetic standpoints with detailed examples;
Propose and develop meaningful connections between Wagner’s music-dramatic innovations, his status as an arts entrepreneur developing a ‘brand’, and his social, cultural, and political ideas;
Demonstrate understanding of Wagner’s place in broader cultural and aesthetic debates of the European nineteenth century, and his influence on those of the early twentieth century.
