Wagner Nights

by Ernest Newman

Ernest Newman, il maggior esperto di Richard Wagner, esamina dieci tra le opere più famose del compositore tedesco, mettendo in rilievo i temi fondamentali, i miti, le fonti letterarie dei libretti e le evoluzioni stilistiche. Salutato come la più acuta ed esaustiva analisi dell’opera wagneriana, Wagner Nights ha riscosso l’entusiasmo senza riserve di specialisti e musicofili. Newman arricchisce l’analisi di trame, testi e musiche delle opere con materiali storici e biografici che trae dal suo immenso bagaglio di conoscenze accumulate in anni di studi dedicati al compositore. L’autore prende il lettore per mano e lo accompagna in un viaggio attraverso l’universo wagneriano; e lungo la strada chiarisce, con prosa lucida e numerosi esempi, tutte le intuizioni delle partiture musicali, i principali leitmotiv e le loro interconnessioni. Questa nuova edizione italiana di Wagner Nights è la prima traduzione integrale del testo originale.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Noted music critic and musicologist, Newman made his name writing for The Sunday Times, and is still regarded as one of the 20th century's most eminent critics.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic directed at those who can read music and are already enchanted by Wagner's work. Anyone fitting this description will find Newman's book both useful and absorbing.

Addendum: I have now been cover-to-cover three times in twenty years and, while my earlier opinions remain unchanged, I'd be remiss not to mention the cloying, medievalist syntax Newman employs. What was oddly charming the first time around can be off-putting after long exposure. It seems quite likely that the author would have been an ardent member of the Society for Creative Anachronism had he lived long enough!

[Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand Wagner's operas, this is the perfect book for you. Ernest Newman writes so well about both the musical and literary aspects of Wagner's work that you will come away with much greater insight. Each opera receives its own chapter, in which Newman relates first how Wagner came to choose the subject, then how he developed it through various sketches and drafts. Finally, he goes through the opera in great detail, with dozens of musical excerpts printed in the text. (To get the most of the book, you will need to be able to "hear" these from reading them, or play them on a piano.) Along the way, Newman shows how the various leitmotifs interact and evolve, revealing the essence of Wagner's composing genius.

The book can be read piecemeal, as each chapter stands alone. There is not a through line that you will miss by skipping around to whichever opera interests you most at a particular time. I first started reading this when I began seriously listening to Wagner's music in graduate school. Based on my bookmark (a dated postcard), I had last picked up the book in around 2005. I returned to it recently to read about Wagner's last opera, "Parsifal," which I had finally listened to this summer. I later went back to finish the chapter on "Tristan und Isolde," where my bookmark had kept my place, mid-chapter, for some 14 years. I believe I had read all the other chapters previously, so now I am counting that I have read the whole book.

Ernest Newman is one of the best writers about music that I have ever encountered. If you have any interest in Wagner, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

[Michael Xu · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must for anyone remotely interested in Wagner's music, even better if you have a bit of musical literacy. Newman is able to elegantly explicate each opera, including its musical themes and sometimes the philosophical implications. It was a pleasure to read this while watching the operas simultaneously. I love Wagner, and thank you Ernest Newman for writing this enlightening accompaniment.

Favorite Operas:
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Götterdämmerung
Tristan und Isolde

[Lillian Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible feat of scholarship which paints stunning portraits of the key Wagner operas. I’ve been keeping it as my companion while watching the 2016 recordings of Castorf’s Ring and I have to say I’ve enjoyed reading this book more than some of the productions. Would recommend seeking it out if you want to understand the complexity of the music.

[Volsung]

Extremely insightful and well-written -- a great pleasure to read.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand the works of Wagner, this is the book for you. Indispensable and one of the greatest books on music ever written.