Wagner’s Theatre HB

Description

In Wagner’s Theatre, Patrick Carnegy presents the turbulent story of Wagner and his interpreters over the course of the twentieth century. Carnegy gives vi­vid accounts of Gustav Mahler’s radical reinvention of the Wagnerian stage, and of the post-war rehabilitation of Wagner and his work after Hitler’s appropriation. He also offers sharply written reappraisals of those great Wagn­erian conductors Klemperer, Toscanini, Karajan and Solti. 

Carnegy provides revealing accounts of the inside-workings of the Royal Opera House and of English National Opera at troubled points in their recent history. In a fascinating conversation with Sir Michael Tippett, the composer talks with unique authority about the problems facing would-be musical dramatists today. Wagner’s Theatre is an essential insight into how interpretations of Wagner have developed, and how we can respond to them.