This anthology, written in English and German, is the report from the symposium “Richard Wagner. Werk und Wirkungen / His Works and their Impact” held in Stockholm, 27-29 January, 2013, arranged by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, together with the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, the Royal Swedish Opera, and the University College of Opera in Stockholm.
The authors offer a wide variety of perspectives from different countries and several disciplines and focus on myth in Wagner, his female characters, his dramaturgy and his comic opera, as well as Wagner’s affinities with Bellini, with Hermann Levi, with Franz Liszt and with Thomas Mann. Modern anxieties about the effect of Wagner’s music on the human mind are discussed, as well as the staging and singing of Wagner in Sweden, his influence on Swedish opera composers, his presence in Swedish fiction, and how he is used for biographical identification.
The volume is illustrated with autographs, as well as photographs from the stage and private life. Wagner’s influence and inspiration on music, literature, and personal life is problematised.