Wagner's Visions: Poetry, Politics, and the Psyche in the Operas through "Die Walküre" (Eastman Studies in Music) (Volume 115)

Examines the impact of contemporary ideas about the psyche and neglected yet crucial artistic influences on the psychological dimension of Wagner's operas, especially Die Feen, Der fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, and the Ring.Wagner's Visions studies crucial influences on Wagner's dramatic style during the years before and just after the failed Dresden revolutionary uprising of 1849. Offering a detailed examination of Die Feen, Wagner's least-known complete opera, together with analysis of Der fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, and the four Ring dramas, Katherine Syer explores the inner experiences of Wagner's protagonists. Sources ofparticular political significance include the fables of the eighteenth-century Venetian playwright Carlo Gozzi, the Iphigenia operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck, and the legacy of the martyr Theodor Körner, whose poetry became the lingua franca of the revolutionary movement to liberate and unify Germany. Syer's book offers fresh insights into the historical context that gave rise to Wagner's dramatic art, revealing how his distinct and powerful imagery is intimately bound up with the crises and instabilities of his era. Katherine R. Syer is associate professor of theatre and musicology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The psychological dimension of Richard Wagner's operas has long been associated with the ideas of Arthur Schopenhauer, yet Wagner had begun absorbing elements of contemporary psychological thought into his stage works as early as the 1830s, twenty years before he engaged with the philosopher's writings. As Katherine Syer demonstrates, the composer incorporated imagery and metaphors with the potential to infuse his psychologically charged dramas with latent political meaning. His operatic visions convey a sense of urgency intimately bound up with the era's crises and instabilities. In Wagner's Visions, Syer offers a detailed examination of Die Feen, Wagner's least known complete opera, as well as new analytical insights into Der fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, and the four Ring dramas. Her study of the ways Wagner probed the inner experiences of his protagonists explores the impact of neglected yet crucial artistic influences. These include the fables of the eighteenth-century Venetian playwright Carlo Gozzi, the Iphigenia operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck, and the legacy of the martyr Theodor Körner. During the Napoleonic Wars, which raged as Wagner was born, Körner's poetry became the lingua franca of the revolutionary movement to liberate and unify Germany. A Humboldt Fellowship recipient, Syer is Assistant Professor of Musicology and Theatre Department Faculty Affiliate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Examines the impact of contemporary ideas about the psyche and neglected yet crucial artistic influences on the psychological dimension of Wagner's operas, especially Die Feen, Der fliegende Hollnder, Tannhuser, Lohengrin, and the Ring. Wagner's Visions studies crucial influences on Wagner's dramatic style during the years before and just after the failed Dresden revolutionary uprising of 1849. Offering a detailed examination of Die Feen, Wagner's least-known complete opera, together with analysis of Der fliegende Hollnder, Tannhuser, Lohengrin, and the four Ring dramas, Katherine Syer explores the inner experiences of Wagner's protagonists. Sources ofparticular political significance include the fables of the eighteenth-century Venetian playwright Carlo Gozzi, the Iphigenia operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck, and the legacy of the martyr Theodor Krner, whose poetry became the lingua franca of the revolutionary movement to liberate and unify Germany. Syer's book offers fresh insights into the historical context that gave rise to Wagner's dramatic art, revealing how his distinct and powerful imagery is intimately bound up with the crises and instabilities of his era. Katherine R. Syer is associate professor of theatre and musicology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Wagner's Visions studies crucial influences on Wagner's dramatic style during the years before and just after the failed Dresden revolutionary uprising of 1849. Offering a detailed examination of Die Feen, Wagner's least-known complete opera, together with analysis of Der fliegende Hollander, Tannhauser, Lohengrin, and the four Ring dramas, Katherine Syer explores the inner experiences of Wagner's protagonists. Sources of particular political significance include the fables of the eighteenth-century Venetian playwright Carlo Gozzi, the Iphigenia operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck, and the legacy of the martyr Theodor Korner, whose poetry became the lingua franca of the revolutionary movement to liberate and unify Germany. Syer's book offers fresh insights into the historical context that gave rise to Wagner's dramatic art, revealing how his distinct and powerful imagery is intimately bound up with the crises and instabilities of his era. Katherine R. Syer is associate professor of musicology and theater at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Frontcover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 1 To Be Born in Leipzig in 1813 12 2 Fairytale Madness: Wagner and Gozzi 41 3 Senta the Somnambulist 91 4 Opposing Worlds: Tannhäuser and Lohengrin 129 5 Hunding’s Horns, Wotan’s Storms, Sieglinde’s Nightmare 176 Notes 235 Bibliography 263 Index 273 To Be Born In Leipzig In 1813 -- Fairytale Madness: Wagner And Gozzi -- Senta The Somnambulist -- Opposing Worlds: Tannhäuser And Lohengrin -- Hunding's Horns, Wotan's Storms, Sieglinde's Nightmare. Katherine R. Syer. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 243-252) And Index.