Wagner and Venice

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Prologue: A Letter to Ludwig
The First Encounter
From Visit to Vacation
From Residence to Mortality
Venice in Wagner's Eyes
Watching
Mourning
Remembering: A German for the Germans
Remembering: An Italian for the Italians
Italy, Venice, and "Wagnerism"
The "Wandering Wagnerians"
Today the Fenice, Tomorrow all Italy
Venetian Assessments
Memory and Commemoration
Surviving Significance
Addenda

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About

Richard Wagner had a longstanding love affair with the city of Venice. His sudden death there in 1883 also initiated a process through which Wagner and his reputation were integrated into Venice's own cumulative cultural image.BR> In Wagner and Venice, John Barker examines the connections between the great composer and the great city. The author traces patterns of Wagner's visits to Venice during his lifetime, considers what the city came to meanto Wagner, and investigates the details surrounding his death. Barker also examines how Venice viewed Wagner, by analyzing the landmark presentation of Wagner's Ring cycle two months after the composer's death, and by consideringVenice's subsequent extensive Wagner celebrations and commemorations. Throughout the volume, biographical detail from new and previously unavailable sources provides readers with a fresh interpretation of this seminal figure.Those already familiar with Wagner's life will find new information about, and insights into, the man and his career, while simultaneously discovering a neglected corner of Italian and Venetian cultural history. John W. Barker is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in Medieval (including Venetian) History. He is also a passionate music lover and record collector, and an active music critic and journalist.

Reviews

Throughout his book Barker makes effective use of newspaper archives. . . . Barker's 'assimilative source study' has now largely filled the critical gap [regarding the disputed biographical documents collected in 1883 by Henriette Perl]. . . . [The book is marked by] the author's palpable enthusiasm for and knowledge of both Wagner and Venice. -- David Cormack

A huge amount of material not previously available first-hand observations and analyses. The amount of detail here is astonishing. Forty-six black-and-white photos bring people and places to life. . . . A loving tribute to Wagner and Venice. -- Charles H. Parsons

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