- Hardcover: 453 pages
- Publisher: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers; New edition edition (1 May 1983)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0306762056
- ISBN-13: 978-0306762055
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Nothing can prepare you for the Ring. Its sublime textures, its dark passages, and its climactic final moments leave one exhausted and spent. In this groundbreaking work John L. DiGaetani succeeds in exploring what it takes to - literally - penetrate the Ring.
Wagner was a man of filthy personal habits and ate a very poor diet. He was grouchy and sometimes didn't leave his bed for days and days, even to wash. A lot of people think that this is why his Ring grew into something so enormous and troublesome. DiGaetani argues a contrary view: that the unmanagible size of Wagner's Ring is an act of Will - that it was the ultimate expression of Wagner's attempt to obliterate all that had gone before him that drove him to such excesses as inserting swords, helmets, anvils, speers and a giant worm into his Ring. The end result, argues DiGaetani, is a structure which although circular, runs red with blood and gives both seering pain and intense pleasure.
For me the greatest achievement of this book is the long section wherein the author gives guidance on how the Ring can be relevant to audiences today. In one passage guiding us through the subtext of Siegfried's death (he is impailed in the back by the rough and burly Hagen) he quite literally brings the viewer to the point of wishing to BE Siegfried and to die as that hero died, in a state of unqualified adoration and radiant bliss.
I would recommend this book for more serious Wagner scholars, as much of the material takes for granted an understanding of the structure, form, and perceived limits of those many layers of ancient sentiment which subconsciously adhere to the many inner recesses of this epic and awful work whose cavernous chambers lie hidden from the uninitiated. To penetrate the Ring prematurely would lead to a raw and ungratifying experience.
Wagner was a man of filthy personal habits and ate a very poor diet. He was grouchy and sometimes didn't leave his bed for days and days, even to wash. A lot of people think that this is why his Ring grew into something so enormous and troublesome. DiGaetani argues a contrary view: that the unmanagible size of Wagner's Ring is an act of Will - that it was the ultimate expression of Wagner's attempt to obliterate all that had gone before him that drove him to such excesses as inserting swords, helmets, anvils, speers and a giant worm into his Ring. The end result, argues DiGaetani, is a structure which although circular, runs red with blood and gives both seering pain and intense pleasure.
For me the greatest achievement of this book is the long section wherein the author gives guidance on how the Ring can be relevant to audiences today. In one passage guiding us through the subtext of Siegfried's death (he is impailed in the back by the rough and burly Hagen) he quite literally brings the viewer to the point of wishing to BE Siegfried and to die as that hero died, in a state of unqualified adoration and radiant bliss.
I would recommend this book for more serious Wagner scholars, as much of the material takes for granted an understanding of the structure, form, and perceived limits of those many layers of ancient sentiment which subconsciously adhere to the many inner recesses of this epic and awful work whose cavernous chambers lie hidden from the uninitiated. To penetrate the Ring prematurely would lead to a raw and ungratifying experience.
114 of 118 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Previous explorations of Wagner's vast Ring piece have been unfulfilling, but Di Gaetani is unafraid to thrust deeply and energetically into this dark and forbidding cavern. A highly satisfying exploration leading the reader to a positively biblical understanding of Wagner's Ring.
60 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After so many years of tentative and superficial studies that barely begin to enter the deep and satisfying world of Wagner's Ring, it's fantastic to read a book that's unafraid to go straight to the bottom of it. Di Gaetani situates the Ring within its entire cultural context, even discussing the gross abuse meted out to it by Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in the classic Looney Tunes cartoon. Common criticisms of the piece revolve around the contention that large stretches of leitmotiv render the piece rather flaccid, making it difficult for Wagner to take the listener to a successful climax. Di Gaetani rips apart these arguments, showing how the sensitive listener can luxuriate in the Ring for the full fifteen hours without it losing its delicate structure. In an epilogue, the author notes the vastly increased freedom that composers have found after being shown the example of Wagner's Ring and the thousands of enthusiastic fans that have spent a lifetime enjoying it. Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Finally, my girlfriend and I can penetrate the ring, and it's...
My girlfriend and I have often talked about how we could tackle the Ring, but neither of us were ever brave enough to take the plunge. Read more
Published 16 days ago by OllyL
Consider me penetrated
It's rare a book lives up to the hype, but this volume is worth every penny. I could spend hours listing its many qualities but the cover alone justifies the purchase. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Catherine Murphy
The World according to Falloon
The Proof of the Soul
Utterly believable yet completely barking, this is witty, entertaining and well-written. Read more
Utterly believable yet completely barking, this is witty, entertaining and well-written. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Christabel
Blue Monday
I like Nicci French.
This was slow to start but introduced a new 'expert' Frieda Klein, who is very likeable with complexities and issues of her own. Read more
This was slow to start but introduced a new 'expert' Frieda Klein, who is very likeable with complexities and issues of her own. Read more
Published 11 months ago by dragonfly63
She bangs.
With great trepidation but with an insatiable curiosity I endeavoured to delve to the very depths of Wagner's cavernous and archaic ring. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Richard Alexander Yendell
One *
I must say I never was into Wagner's romantic Ring, and DiGaetani's compendium of forays into the composer's fundamental output won't bring me out. Who's to blame? Read more
Published 23 months ago by Tomasz Stasinski
Pleasant, but ultimately unfulfilling.
Although more than a plucky stab at Wagner's Ring, for my money DiGaetani's 'Probing Fanny By Gaslight' remains his finest work to date.
Published on 21 May 2010 by Andrew Marshall
Total Immersion in Wagner's Ring
This is a compilation of writings by those who have been touched and, in many cases, deeply affected by Wagner's Ring. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2009 by Sam Le Q
Painful to take
I was largely disappointed with this book. 'Penetrating Wagner's Ring' is by no means an easy feat to accomplish and the author's foray into this dark world is, at times, painfully... Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2009 by Mr. B. Guy
Hard to digest
It starts well by beautifully initiating us into the delicate textures encompassing Wagners Ring; then slowly stripping them bare to show a more stark analysis. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2009 by D. Burrows
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