Re: When was Wagner at his most suicidal?

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 04:26:43 -0800, Laon wrote:

> Speaking of Wagner and suicide, I see another English professor who
> fancies himself as a psychiatrist has written another long-distance
> psychoanalysis of a dead genius. This time it's Wagner.

Oh goody.  That's just what we need.

<snip>
> 
> Anyway, here's the publisher's blurb for _Wagner and Suicide_: 
> 
> "Composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) likely suffered from a
> manic-depressive disorder but in his time very little was known about
> mental illness, and suicide was not a topic for general discussion.
> Wagner was often plagued by extreme mood swings; he used his operas,
> especially the librettos, to express himself and his personal
> difficulties.
> 
> "This investigation of the suicidal themes in Wagner's life and operas
> -Die Fliegender Holländer, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde,
> Die Meistersinger, the Ring cycle, and Parsifal- shows how
> manic-depressive illness, particularly the depressive part of it,
> affected Wagner's life and art. This book also analyzes the influence
> of Giambattista Vico's theories of cycles (and how these theories
> appeared in Wagner's work), suicide as a theatrical and operatic
> phenomenon, and the way the theme of suicide has appeared in other
> works of the literary and performing arts."

Giambattista WHO?

> 
> Ah... _Penetrating Wagner's Ring_, by John diGaetano.   
> 

Hmmm.

-- 
Derrick Everett   (deverett at c2i.net)

==== Writing from  59°54'N 10°36'E ====

http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/index.htm