Wagner and Suicide
- Author: DiGaetani, John Louis
thoughtful, readable, and informative book...interesting throughout
Wagner and Suicide
- Author: DiGaetani, John Louis
Purchase product
thoughtful, readable, and informative book...interesting throughout
About
Composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) likely suffered from a manic-depressive disorder but in his time very little was known about mental illness, and suicide was not a topic for general discussion. Wagner was often plagued by extreme mood swings; he used his operas, especially the librettos, to express himself and his personal difficulties.
This investigation of the suicidal themes in Wagner's life and operas--Die Fliegender Hollander, Tannhauser, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger, the Ring cycle, and Parsifal--shows how manic-depressive illness, particularly the depressive part of it, affected Wagner's life and art. It also analyzes the influence of Giambattista Vico's theories of cycles (and how these theories appeared in Wagner's work), suicide as a theatrical and operatic phenomenon, and the way in which the theme of suicide has appeared in other works of the literary and performing arts.
Contents
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments viii
- Introduction
- 1 Wagner’s Bipolar Life: Mania and Depression
- 2 Die Fliegender Holländer: The Isolated Personality
- 3 Tannhäuser: The Artistic Personality and Suicide
- 4 Lohengrin: The Dream Persona from Another World
- 5 Tristan und Isolde: Suicide as the Best Alternative
- 6 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Mania and Reconciliation
- 7 The Ring Cycle: Suicide as Threat and Triumph
- 8 Parsifal: Beyond Polarity
- 9 Suicide in Opera and Drama
- 10 Wagner, the Decadents, and the Modern British Novel
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Awards and reviews
Wagner Notes
thoughtful, readable, and informative book...interesting throughout
