The Wagner Operas

by Ernest Newman

In this classic guide, the foremost Wagner expert of our century discusses ten of Wagner's most beloved operas, illuminates their key themes and the myths and literary sources behind the librettos, and demonstrates how the composer's style changed from work to work. Acclaimed as the most complete and intellectually satisfying analysis of the Wagner operas, the book has met with unreserved enthusiasm from specialist and casual music lover alike.

Here, available for the first time in a single paperback volume, is the perfect companion for listening to, or attending, The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, Die Meistersinger, the four operas of the Ring Cycle, and Parsifal. Newman enriches his treatment of the stories, texts, and music of the operas with biographical and historical materials from the store of knowledge that he acquired while completing his numerous books on Wagner, including the magisterial Life of Richard Wagner.

The text of The Wagner Operas is filled with hundreds of musical examples from the scores, and all the important leitmotifs and their interrelationships are made clear in Newman's lucid prose.

"This is as fine an introduction as any ever written about a major composer's masterpieces. Newman outlines with unfailing clarity and astuteness each opera's dramatic sources, and he takes the student through the completed opera, step by step, with all manner of incidental insight along the way."
Robert Bailey, New York University

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

746 pages, Paperback

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.

[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.