The Perfect Wagnerite
The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring (originally published London, 1898) is a philosophical commentary on Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, by the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. Shaw offered it to those enthusiastic admirers of Wagner who "were unable to follow his ideas, and do not in the least understand the dilemma of Wotan." He interprets the Ring in Marxian terms as an allegory of the collapse of capitalism from its internal contradictions. Musicologically, his interpretation is noteworthy for its perception of the change in aesthetic direction beginning with the final scene of Siegfried, in which he claimed that the cycle turns from Musikdrama back towards opera. (Introduction by Wikipedia)
Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Music
Language: English
| Section | Chapter | Reader | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play 00 | Prefaces/Preliminary Encouragements | Bob Neufeld |
00:24:24 |
| Play 01 | The Ring of the Niblungs/The Rhine Gold | Bob Neufeld |
00:41:35 |
| Play 02 | Wagner as Revolutionist | Bob Neufeld |
00:14:34 |
| Play 03 | The Valkyries | Bob Neufeld |
00:21:42 |
| Play 04 | Siegfried | Bob Neufeld |
00:27:06 |
| Play 05 | Back To Opera Again - Siegfried Concluded | Bob Neufeld |
00:34:55 |
| Play 06 | Night Falls On The Gods | Bob Neufeld |
00:27:28 |
| Play 07 | Forgotten Ere Finished/Why He Changed His Mind | Bob Neufeld |
00:24:11 |
| Play 08 | Wagner's Own Explanation/The Pessimist As Amorist | Bob Neufeld |
00:17:17 |
| Play 09 | The Music of The Ring | Bob Neufeld |
00:39:36 |
| Play 10 | Bayreuth/Wagnerian Singers | Bob Neufeld |
00:13:40 |