The purpose of this book is to supply Wagner lovers with a single work which shall meet all their needs. The author has told the story of Wagner's life, explained his artistic aims, given the history of each of his great works, examined its literary sources, shown how Wagner utilised them, surveyed the musical plan of each drama, and set forth the meaning and purpose of its principal ideas. The work is not intended to be critical, but is designed to be expository. It aims to help the Wagner lover to a thorough knowledge and understanding of the man and his works. The author has consulted all the leading biographies, and for guidance in the direction of absolute trustworthiness he is directly indebted to Mme. Cosima Wagner, whose suggestions have been carefully observed. He is also under a large, but not heavy, burden of obligation to Mr. Henry Edward Krehbiel, musical critic of The New York Tribune, who carefully read the manuscript of this work and pointed out its errors. The value of Mr. Krehbiel's revision and his hints cannot be over-estimated. Thanks are also due to Mr. Emil Paur, conductor of the Philharmonic Society, of New York, for certain inquiries made in Europe. The records of first performances have been prepared with great care and with no little labour. For the dates of those at most of the European cities the author is indebted to an elaborate article by E. Kastner, published in the Allgemeine Musik. Zeitung, of Berlin, for July and August, 1896. The original casts have been secured, as far as possible, from the programmes. For that of the "Flying Dutchman" at Dresden—incorrectly given in many books on Wagner—the author is indebted to Hofkapellmeister Ernst von Schuch, who obtained it from the records of the Hoftheater. The name of the singer of the Herald in the first cast of "Lohengrin," missing in all the published histories, was supplied by Hermann Wolff, of Berlin, from the records of Weimar. The casts of first performances in this country are not quite complete, simply because the journalists of twenty-five years ago did not realise their obligations to posterity. The casts were not published in full. The records have disappeared. The theatres in some cases—as in that of the Stadt—have long ago gone out of existence and nothing can be done. As far as given the casts are, the author believes, perfectly correct.

This biography of Richard Wagner dives into the man behind the music, exploring his life and providing explanations of his work. It offers insight into his complex personality and examines how his life experiences influenced his musical compositions. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of Wagner's impact on the world of opera and classical music as a whole. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

An illuminating 1902 account of Wagner's life and artistic aims, with an analysis of each of his music dramas.

Excerpt from Richard Wagner His Life and His Dramas: A Biographical Study of the Man and an Explanation, His Much musical experience has been gained since this book was published in 1901. The excursion of Par sifal into the world, begun at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1903, has extended through several lands. Familiarity with the great lyric dramas has become a common possession of music lovers. An entire genera tion of opera patrons, fed, from infancy on Wagnerian' music, has reached maturity. The ancient battle for acceptance of the art work of the future is almost forgotten. A few white-haired opera goers and the members of fashionable society, who have always been hostile to every serious art aiming at something other than their entertainment, continue to complain when the name of Wagner appears in the programs. The broad world of art, letters and music and the circles of polite culture are, as usual, deaf to their murmurings. Wagner is performed as a matter of course. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This is one of the most comprehensive books ever written about opera. Not only does it contain stories of operas but also music from some of the famous arias. It is so well regarded that it has been updated many times, the latest being 1997. Mr Kobbe, unfortunately, died in an accident before the book was finished, but it was finished posthumously and the indices and photographs arranged for him.