Richard Wagner (1813-1883) aimed to be more than just a composer. He set out to redefine opera as a "total work of art" combining the highest aspirations of drama, poetry, the symphony, the visual arts, even religion and philosophy. Equally celebrated and vilified in his own time, Wagner continues to provoke debate today regarding his political legacy as well as his music and aesthetic theories. Wagner and His World examines his works in their intellectual and cultural contexts. Seven original essays investigate such topics as music drama in light of rituals of naming in the composer's works and the politics of genre; the role of leitmotif in Wagner's reception; the urge for extinction in Tristan und Isolde as psychology and symbol; Wagner as his own stage director; his conflicted relationship with pianist-composer Franz Liszt; the anti-French satire Eine Kapitulation in the context of the Franco-Prussian War; and responses of Jewish writers and musicians to Wagner's anti-Semitism. In addition to the editor, the contributors are Karol Berger, Leon Botstein, Lydia Goehr, Kenneth Hamilton, Katherine Syer, and Christian Thorau. This book also includes translations of essays, reviews, and memoirs by champions and detractors of Wagner; glimpses into his domestic sphere in Tribschen and Bayreuth; and all of Wagner's program notes to his own works. Introductions and annotations are provided by the editor and David Breckbill, Mary A. Cicora, James Deaville, Annegret Fauser, Steven Huebner, David Trippett, and Nicholas Vazsonyi. "Offers much stimulating material, presented in kaleidoscopic fashion, that should be required reading for anyone desiring a more profound insight." ---Della Couling, Classical Music Magazine "Grey once again has ferreted out themes and original material on the composer which have not been over-exposed in English translation." ---Mike Ashman, Gramophone Thomas S. Grey is professor of music at Stanford University. His books include Wagner's Musical Prose: Texts and Contexts and The Cambridge Companion to Wagner . RICHARD WAGNER AND HIS WORLD PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS Copyright © 2009 Princeton University Press All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-691-14366-8 Contents Preface and Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................................ixPermissions.......................................................................................................................................................xvFrom Page to Stage: Wagner as Regisseur KATHERINE SYER...........................................................................................................3Wagner and Liszt: Elective Affinities KENNETH HAMILTON...........................................................................................................27From Opera to Music Drama: Nominal Loss, Titular Gain LYDIA GOEHR................................................................................................65Eine Kapitulation: Aristophanic Operetta as Cultural Warfare in 1870 THOMAS S. GREY..............................................................................87A Note on Tristan's Death Wish KAROL BERGER......................................................................................................................123Guides for Wagnerites: Leitmotifs and Wagnerian Listening CHRISTIAN THORAU.......................................................................................133German Jews and Wagner LEON BOTSTEIN.............................................................................................................................151Wilhelmine Schrder-Devrient and Wagner's Dresden CLAIRE VON GLMER, HENRY CHORLEY...............................................................................201Catulle Mends Visits Tribschen CATULLE MENDS...................................................................................................................230Recollections of Villa Wahnfried from Wagner's American Dentist NEWELL SILL JENKINS..............................................................................237The Overture to Tannhuser FRANZ LISZT...........................................................................................................................251Letters to a Young Composer About Wagner JOHANN CHRISTIAN LOBE...................................................................................................269Franz Brendel's Reconciliation Address FRANZ BRENDEL.............................................................................................................311Wagner Admires Meyerbeer (Les Huguenots) RICHARD WAGNER..........................................................................................................335Debacle at the Paris Opra: Tannhuser and the French Critics, 1861 OSCAR COMETTANT, PAUL SCUDO.......................................