Wagner and the Art of the Theatre Patrick Carnegy

The production of Wagner's operas is fiercely debated. In this ground-breaking stage history Patrick Carnegy vividly evokes the - often scandalous - great productions which have left their mark not only on our understanding of Wagner but on modern theatre as a whole. He examines the way in which Wagner himself staged his works, showing that the composer remained dissatisfied with even the best of his productions. After Wagner's death the scenic challenge was taken up by the Swiss visionary Adolphe Appia, by Gustav Mahler and Alfred Roller in Vienna, and by Otto Klemperer and Ewald Dulberg in Berlin. In Russia the Bolsheviks reinvented Wagner as a social-revolutionary, while cinema left its indelible imprint on the Wagnerian stage with Eisenstein's Die Walkure in Moscow in 1940. Hitler famously appropriated Wagner for his own ends. Patrick Carnegy unscrambles the interaction of politics and stage production, showing how post-war German directors sought a way to bury the uncomfortable past. He contrasts the bare-stage scenic strategy of Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner at Bayreuth with that of the East German Joachim Herz who presented the Ring as an allegory of 19th-century capitalism. The book concludes with a brilliantly perceptive critique of the iconoclastic interpretations by Patrice Chereau, Ruth Berghaus and Hans-Jurgen Syberberg.

Formerly a music critic for The Times and a Dramaturg at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Patrick Carnegy has lectured, broadcast and published widely on Wagner, opera and the theatre.

'[A] massive undertaking... This book is truly epic in its scope, and it will certainly become one of the standard reference works in English, not only on Wagner but on twentieth-century stagecraft.' - Patrick O'Connor, Literary Review

'...long meditated as well as meticulously researched...its overview is magisterial, and, despite its considerable length, the crisply organised structure and unfailing lucidity of the prose make it worth the effort of a thorough and continuous reading.' - Rupert Christiansen, The Spectator

'...as compelling as a thriller...Clark shows that this [book] really is the merest doorway to what is ultimately a truly sublime mystery. - John McEwan, The Tablet

'...one of the most marvellous books I have read this year...Patrick Carnegy recounts with deep scholarship combined with good humour, Wagner's obsession with special effects.' - A.N. Wilson The Daily Telegraph

'Well produced and illustrated, and fairly priced - for opera fans this is a must.' - Malcolm Hayes, Classic FM Magazine

'...Carnegy has already provided a rich panoply of alternative questions and answers from across the years. The notes are not footnotes but are otherwise a joy, allowing for some Gibbonesque diversions.' - Mike Ashman, Opera

'Carnegy has managed to out-Wagner Wagner - spending 40 years writing about a century of Wagnerian productions....Carnegy was rewarded when his book won the Royal Philharmonic Society prize for "creative communication".' - Stephen Moss, The Guardian 'Arts'

'... a magisterial survey of the Wagner productions from the mid-19th century to the late 20th ... it's refreshing to come across an analysis as lucid and authoritative (and intelligently illustrated) as Carnegy's.' - Andrew Clark, The Financial Times Magazine