Did Wagner exploit King Ludwig? In Luchino Visconti’s magnificent four-hour film Ludwig, the king is ingeniously cast as an embodiment of the Wagnerian pariah; Visconti has transformed Ludwig’s story into a veritable homage to Richard Wagner. Is Visconti’s Ludwig a credible re-enactment of history? Doubtless it could be considered a whitewash job. But not be me. Wagner … [Read more...] about Did Wagner Exploit King Ludwig?
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Another Cheap Shot at Wagner
Was Richard Wagner a "monster"? No so far as I can tell. Here's my book review of Simon Callow's opportunistic "Being Wagner" in this weekend's "Wall Street Journal": In 1866, a Munich newspaper reported that Minna Wagner, the recently deceased wife of the composer Richard Wagner, had lived in “direst penury.” She was reduced to accepting poor relief notwithstanding … [Read more...] about Another Cheap Shot at Wagner