Story of the Century
eBook - ePub

Story of the Century

Wagner and the creation of The Ring

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Story of the Century

Wagner and the creation of The Ring

About this book

A PRESTO BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

'Gripping.' FINANCIAL TIMES
'Breathtaking.' SIMON CALLOW
'Vivid.' BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

A colourful and concise telling of the fascinating story behind Richard Wagner's extraordinary masterpiece, Ring of the Nibelung.

The Ring is one of the most epic and compelling stories of the nineteenth century, created by a composer who was, alongside Dickens, Tolstoy and Victor-Hugo, also one of the century's master storytellers. But the story of how Wagner created the work is one full of intrigue and triumphs against unlikely odds - as well as controversy, due to the composer's anti-semitic views and popularity with the Nazi party.

In Story of the Century, Michael Downes combines cultural history and biography to offer this accessible and insightful introduction to The Ring and its mythology. He tells the story of how and why this extraordinary masterpiece came into being, why it takes the form it does, why it fascinates and obsesses so many and horrifies others, and why it matters.

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Yes, you can access Story of the Century by Michael Downes in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Music. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Faber & Faber
Year
2024
eBook ISBN
9780571372010
Edition
0
Subtopic
Music

Table of contents

  1. Landing Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. Maps
  6. Prologue
  7. 1: Wagner’s story: Kapellmeister and revolutionary
  8. 2: Sourcing the story: song and saga
  9. 3: Shaping the story: Stabreim and Schopenhauer
  10. 4: Sounding the story: text into music
  11. 5: Selling the story: from book to building
  12. 6: Staging the story: from casting to curtain-up
  13. 7: The story retold
  14. Chronology
  15. The story itself: synopses of each drama
  16. Notes
  17. Further reading, viewing and listening
  18. Illustrations and credits
  19. Acknowledgements
  20. Index
  21. Plates
  22. About the Author
  23. Copyright