Wagner wanted to bring the inner person outside; something which he believed the Greeks had achieved. A fusion of all art forms - music, poetry, drama, dance, and song culminates in a celebration of life and beyond.
Opera had become trivialised and concentrated on the outer being and art was disintegrating. Entertainment was amusement not exploration of conflict or inner self. A desire to achieve perfection, a commendable aim, but from one so flawed of character? It strikes me that his was a personal quest which he was willing to share with the world.
Wagner's opera is, of course, enduring and even now much discussed. However, by whom. Did he and has he touched the masses. How many attended his Operas when first performed and indeed how many do now? The number of times people are heard to say ' Wagner, oh no, too heavy for me' . Those people are Opera lovers. Opera goers form a tiny percentage of the population. The masses appear to be touched by the likes of Pavarotti singing 'tunes' in a popularist milieu. The inner meaning and self reflection flies way above the heads of the crowd.
3 comments:
Christa
Welcome to the blog. The act of writing (and publishing) is a process by which the ideas are refined, developed.
Yes, I agree. Wagner was intent on developing a new operatic genre. The characteristics of classical Greek drama provides a starting point for thoughts about those Wagnerian operas (which are to be distinguished from other ones).
I remember though that we're accustomed to the richness of Shakespeare's play. He too used text and music (including the music of the language). He also introduced the supernatural as a way of transcending the constraints of the familiar world.
The relationship of the music and the words? Wagner composed some at least of the music before he wrote the text. We talk about being carried along by the music. The music alone may be worth the price of the ticket. But the narrative adds significantly to the experience (say) of Die Meistersingers.
Thanks again for prompting these thoughts about Wagner. I look forward to the next posting.
Don
The masses? I wonder. Who comprised the audiences at Wagner's (late) operas? A question for exploration on Google.
What emerges from these postings (and the conversations which gave rise to them) is the importance of both text and music in Wagner's operas. The experience of the opera - Meistersingers, for instance - will be all the richer if one has read and thought about the text.
Think of the experience of attending (say) Othello. The text is so rich, each phrase, each line is so strong, that we cannot carry the meaning(s) in our heads. Instead, we listen to the rhythm of the text and, in general, follow the action. It is only afterwards (perhaps) that, on reading the text, we realise 'what was going on'. So too with Wagner. It is important to engage with the text. It matters.
Now that you have attended all four operas, it is time to return to your thoughts. To what extent to you think that Das Rheingold (say) uses poetry, mime, dance, and so on. There are magical events in the opera. There are magical creatures, including gods and giants and under-the-world creatures who can live at the bottom of the Rhine without breathing apparatus.
I wonder how we receive these inclusions, these elements of the opera. 'A magical world' the opera undoubtedly is, but I sense that we have a different understanding of the phrase.
Not a good opera for children?
Don
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