Wagner and suicide / by John Louis DiGaetani.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

DiGaetani, John Louis, 1943-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883--Mental health.

Wagner, Richard.

Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883. Operas.

Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883.

Composers--Mental health.

Composers.

Suicide.

Mental health.

Physical Description:

viii, 195 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, [2003]

Summary:

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:

Wagner's bipolar life : mania and depression

Die Fliegender Holländer : the isolated personality

Tannhäuser : the artistic personality and suicide

Lohengrin : the dream persona from another world

Tristan und Isolde : suicide as the best alternative

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg : mania and reconciliation

The Ring cycle : suicide as threat and triumph

Parsifal : beyond polarity

Suicide in opera and drama

Wagner, the decadents, and the modern British novel.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-192) and index.

ISBN:

0786414774

OCLC:

51536394