This is a good book so far as it goes. It's a bit dry, but if you are sufficiently interested in the material than you should be able to get through it OK.

The book is divided into sections about Wagner's source material, a history of Parsifal performances, a musical commentary, a discussion of the critical reactions to Parsifal from Wagner's time to the present, and a proposed interpretation. In the "interpretation" section, the author argues that Parsifal must be interpreted as a religious work.

I was disappoined with the book, because I was expecting a more detailed interpretation (for example, what actually happens in Act II of Parsifal?)

The book is interesting, but was not quite what I was looking for. However, the chapter on Wagner's source material is a necessary prerequisite on forming your own opinion of this work, so those of you still grappling with this opera should consider purchasing this book.

I have found the book highly fascinating. It not only gives you a fair deal on the story itself - additionally it provides a huge amount on background information to Wagner, the history of the play, the story behind the story...

Particularly the parts about the origination of the theme of Parsifal is well researched and worth reading.

This book was touching and adventure filled. It was very touching to see how the Tristan & Isolde fouhgt for their love and had to part. But found ways to still keep their love. The adventures involved Tristan and his many battles to win glory and peace. I thought that the book was well written to the point where I found myself crying in the end with grief for the two lovers. But to not give any thing away i can not tell you why, read the book and find out!

Tristan und Isolde is quite possibly Wagner's finest achievement. In fact, it holds a unique place in operatic history; it has inspired the thinking of philosophers, even scientists, just as works such as Oedipus Rex, Hamlet and Don Giovanni had done before. No opera lover's book shelf is complete without a copy of this score. Dover's edition is a reprint of the reliable C.F. Peters edition from the early twentieth century. The scholarship is highly reliable as is generally true with Peters, especially with Peters' German scores. There is an English translation of all German frontismatter, but no glossary of German musical terms. The cover art for this edition is Der Kuss in Gustav Klimt, an art work as erotic and disturbing as this Opera is. The score is too big, and the book too small for podium use, but it is perfect for at home. Many of the innovations of twentieth century music and drama, indeed all twentieth century culture, may never have occurred if this opera had not been written. If that sounds far-fetched, buy this score, and a good recording, and see why I make that assertion.

Wagner's ring is a remarkable achievement. Among other things, it offers filmmakers, such as George Lucas, a model of how to create an epic drama involving multiple generations of characters, which nonetheless holds together on stage (or, for Lucas' purposes, on film). To my taste, some of the Ring's most memorable moments, both musically and dramatically, are found in Das Rheingold. Dover reprinted the B. Schott's Sohne edition from the late 19th century. Schott's was Wagner's original publisher, ergo, this edition was subject to approval by Wagner himself. It's a large book, and it might well be possible to conduct from it. The book is, as always with Dover, well crafted, easy to read, and printed on acid-free, fade-resistant paper. There are English translations of the frontismatter, but no German glossary of musical terms. In many of my recent Dover reviews, I have failed to mention that the score is reasonably priced. The reason I haven't is because with Dover, that simply goes without saying.

More than just a dry run for his liturgical Christian music drama PARSIFAL, the German composer's personal look at the life of Christ merges the traditional Passion story with his own brand of revolutionary politics, proving true novelist Reynolds Price's words that "virtually all post-Gospel lives of Jesus [have] told us far more about their authors than their subject." Yet for a man so often identified with anti-Semitism, readers will be surprised that Wagner's mystery play is remarkably free of racial bias or slurs. Not only are the Jews not scapegoated as the Christ-killers of Medieval lore, but the portrayal of Judas as a heroic freedom fighter echoes the portrait in Nikos Kazantzakis' THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST. (One wonders if this interpretation tricked down to Kazantzakis during his intensive studies of Wagner friend-turned-foe Friedrich Nietzsche.)

All in all, fascinating material not only for musicologists, historians, and Wagnerites, but for those interested in the Christology as seen though the eyes of historical personages.

Siegfried is the third opera in Wagner's tetrology, the Ring of the Nibeling. It tells the story of Siegfried, the young hero who bursts through a ring of fire to saves Brunnhilde, his aunt and eventual lover, from a fate of eternal sleep. This opera contains remarkable music, such as Brunnhilde and Siegfrieds' love duets, and the prophetic twittering of the forest bird. As with Das Rheingold, Dover republished the B. Schott's Sohne edition, which means that what we see on the page was approved by Wagner himself. Again, Dover editions are reasonably priced, easy to read, and capable of enduring all reasonable, and some unreasonable wear and tear. Dover's Siegfried is large enough to conduct from, which isn't always true with Dover's Wagner scores. In any case, a copy of this score belongs in the home of all self respecting Opera lovers.

This is an excellent account. The author considers Wagner beyond just his musical masterpieces.

Excellent reading.

Interesting mix of material from the general and anecdotal to the specialised and academic.

16 essays and texts including:

Paul Dukas - The Influence of Wagner
Max Leroy - The 1st French friends of Wagner
A Duibisson - Wagner and his French editor
A Coeuroy - Notes on the French Wagnerian novel
E Dujardin - Summary of La Revue Wagnerienne
A Jullien - The opening of Tannhauser.

Lots of quirky bits of info you don't normally hear about. Dull in parts, gripping elsewhere; depends what you're after!

This book provides an excellent one-volume treatment of most of the major aspects of Wagner's work, and the influence he had and continues to have. The essays are by recognized authorities, and provide a generally balanced view. Particularly good is the essay on his complicated attitude towards Judaism, and the several essays which deal with his influence outside of the strictly musical sphere. The only thing missing is a biographical overview. For one who is interested in having more information about Wagner than what is available in Grove or Grout, this book, along with Gutman's biography, will provide a very fine introduction to Wagner.

A fascinating collection of ten different essays by authors who are experts in their respective fields. Topics covered include conducting, singing, staging, orchestral playing, Bayreuth, and Wagner cults. A must-have for anyone who enjoys Wagner's operas. The essays are rich in content, and one wishes that there where more of them. It is a rather slender, 214 page volume.

To an even greater extent than, say, Freudianism, Jungianism involves a leap of faith. It isn't rational, let alone anything like scientific; it's another case where a charismatic person once came up with a set of precepts, and the disciples follow them. But while I wouldn't recommend a Jungian therapist to anyone I cared about (I'd expect no harm except to the wallet; but little good either) Jungian analysis can be interesting when its applied to myth; it is after all largely based on Jung's ideas about myth. That makes Jungian ideas fairly apt for reading a myth-based work like the "Ring".

Robert Donington is a Jungian true believer, and he applies Jung's ideas with considerable ingenuity and interest. Sometimes he'll do anything to fit Wagner into the Jungian framework, so that, for example, he'll read the very male dragon Fafner as "the mother in her devouring aspect". That's a pretty desperate reading: Fafner is nobody's female principle, and only someone with a strongly pre-determined agenda could try to make him one.

Still, Donington is often insightful. Why is there a brief reminiscence of Erda's theme when Fricka appears in Walku:re Act II? Because, says Donington, Fricka is somehow representing Erda's wisdom in this appearance. Fricka may not seem wise, but on this occasion she is right. This and a hundred other small insights makes this a worthwhile and constantly interesting book. It's also very good on Wagner's mythological sources.

Donington is right in thinking that the Ring is an endlessly complex and profound work; but probably wrong in thinking that Jung holds the key. Still, while Donington's overall reading is eccentric and not entirely reliable, this is a very enjoyable and often insightful book.

Laon