The Wagners by Nike Wagner

The Wagners by Nike Wagner

In this fascinating book Nike Wagner, the great grand-daughter of the composer, exposes the dramas behind the ever-controversial Wagner family and the Bayreuth Festival. She discusses Richard Wagner's life, his character and the music-dramas he wrote; the Bayreuth Festival; her father and the new style of Wagner production which he inaugurated after the Second World War; their relationship to extreme right-wing political movements; and the battles for the succession of the principality of the Festival. The book chronicles in detail the often horrifying internecine warfare within the family, and its relationship to the extreme right-wing ideologies which have dominated much of its history. The extraordinary role that Wagner and the Bayreuth Festival have played in German life is relayed with irony but no animosity, as Nike Wagner attempts to understand how such a sublime art should have been appropriated by a gang of semi-illiterate thugs for their own purposes. This is a powerfully argued, richly informative book on Wagner, his operas and Bayreuth. Nike Wagner has performed a tour de force in writing a highly intelligent piece of cultural history on Wagner's life and the legacy of his music.

Nike Wagner studied music, theatre history and literature at the School of Music in Cincinnati, USA. She is an active cultural commentator and participant in programmes, symposiums and in the media in France, Germany, Austria and England. Since 1975, she has published countless reviews and essays on European cultural history and on contemporary German history, with special emphasis on the history of new Bayreuth.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780297643159
ISBN 10	0297643150
Title	The Wagners
Author	Nike Wagner
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Orion Publishing Co
Year published	2000-12-28
Number of pages	320
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.