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Few major artists have aroused the ire and adulation of successive generations as persistently as Richard Wagner. He was the centre of controversy during his lifetime and yet, when he died, he was the most idolized man in Germany. The situation has not changed much since then. Simon Williams explores the reasons for this adulation and antipathy by examining an aspect that may be a fundamental cause for this radical division in the reception of Wagner's work, the phenomenon of heroism. Williams analyses this heroism as a function of Wagner's theatre and music, beginning with a definition and examination of the concept of the heroic. The book also discusses all thirteen stage works by Wagner and the phenomenon of heroism and Wagner's adaptation of the figure of the Romantic hero. Williams offers a theatrical, musical, and cultural re-evaluation of one of the most enduring figures in the arts.

78.21.1 Wagner --- 78.77.0 --- Operas --- Heroes in opera. --- Opera --- Opera characters --- Operatic characters --- Characters. --- Characters --- Wagner, Richard, --- Wagner, Richard --- Heroes in opera --- Personnages d'opéra. --- Héros (personnes) --- Dans l'opéra. --- Characters and characteristics in opera.

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The retired psychiatrist and former music graduate John Cordingly examines twelve operatic heroes under six sub-categories of personality disorder. He justifies his view that they are not 'mad' by tracing the histories of mental disorder, sexuality and Byronism, and by placing each opera within its cultural context. He also considers what professional treatment is needed according to modern criteria.

His gallery of heroes includes the hubristic Otello and Godunov, the psychopathic Iago and Claggart, the schizoid Wozzeck and Grimes, the borderline Werther and Herman, the narcissisticDon Giovanni and Onegin, and the repressed and melancholic Faust and Aschenbach. Each is considered within the overall design of their respective work. Cordingly also probes the reception of each opera and draws comparisons with cases from life. The book is a landmark in being the first of its kind and weaves a fascinating tapestry of concerns. It is also eminently readable.

JOHN CORDINGLY (author) is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. CLAIRE SEYMOUR (editor) is Head of Senior College at Queen's College London and the author of The Operas of Benjamin Britten [Boydell Press].

Heroes in opera --- Opera --- Comic opera --- Lyric drama --- Opera, Comic --- Operas --- Drama --- Dramatic music --- Singspiel --- Psychological aspects. --- History and criticism --- Byronism. --- character analysis. --- cultural contexts. --- mental disorder. --- mental health. --- opera. --- operatic analysis. --- operatic heroes. --- personality disorder. --- professional treatment. --- psychiatric report. --- psychological analysis. --- sexuality.