Richard Wagner: Power, Sex and Revolution (Part 1)

Synopsis

What’s really going on in Wagner?
Two hundred years after the composer’s birth, journalist Paul Mason takes a fresh look at the man whose music has gripped him for as long as he can remember. The megalithic fifteen hours of The Ring cycle dominate our view of Wagner, but behind it lies a man whose complex personality leaves us still struggling to understand him. He was a revolutionary, not just in music but also in politics, even finding himself a wanted man in exile. He was determined to transform drama into something which would be a powerful force in society, and a man driven by ambition to revitalise a Germany which he saw as critically unwell. And there were the darker instincts, not least an attitude to racial purity which leaves deep questions about his validity as an artist.

In this programme Mason peers into the murky depths of a tale of desire and obsession. ‘Tristan and Isolde’ takes us deep into the mind of its composer, a man with powerful sexual urges of his own, and whose approach to life was totally reshaped by his discovery of one of the greatest philosophers of his age. We hear from those who have sung and studied the work, and also a man so captivated by the power of opera, and Wagner in particular, that he built his own opera house in which to stage these giant and ever-challenging works.
[30 minutes]

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of production

2013

Notes

Available via BoB, 30/04/2013, BBC Radio 4.

Subjects

History; Music

Keywords

Wagner, Richard (1813-1883)

Online availability

URI

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s4g74

Delivery

Streamed

Credits

Contributor

Paul Mason

Production Company

Name

BBC Radio

Distributor

Name

BBC iPlayer

Related

Name

BoB

Email

bob@learningonscreen.ac.uk

Web

https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand External site opens in new window

Phone

020 3743 2345

Address

Learning on Screen - the British Universities and Colleges Film and Video Council
330 Holborn Gate
1st Floor, Suite 120
London
WC1V 7QH

Notes

Formerly a service from BUFVC, British Universities Film & Video Council