Customer Reviews

Penetrating Wagner's "Ring" (Da Capo Paperback)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

With great trepidation but with an insatiable curiosity I endeavoured to delve to the very depths of Wagner's cavernous and archaic ring. Donning my hardest literary helmet I thrusted myself aggressively through its hard exterior and endeavoured to wallow in its soft core. It was a stubborn, yet ultimately fulfilling transition, which reaped a teeth grinding crescendo, the like of which only Wagner could truly facilitate.
A deeply personal work and at times I felt that I had violated him but the relief I felt annihilating his ring left me deeply satisfied. On the surface it may seem unreceptive, arduous, even unyielding but with positive literate lubrication, Wagner's ring can be successfully and enjoyably penetrated.

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 received. There appears to be little thought given to approach, stabbing relentlessly at ideas in an attempt to cram in as much as possible.

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. It has several threads that come together cleverly (although the 'hinge pin' moment is a little contrived) and develops the theme of two abductions of young children twenty years apart. The twists and turns keep going right to the end of the book.

A satisfying read even if not quite in the league of their earlier books.

This is a compilation of writings by those who have been touched and, in many cases, deeply affected by Wagner's Ring. Writings from the composer himself reveal his intense desire to challenge society with his Ring piece, along with his more ambitious aim to use it to lure foreign audiences. The book deals with all aspects of the Ring, from its tightness of structure through to its darker, more deeply concealed elements. Bravo to these talented writers for opening up Wagner's Ring on the international stage and helping us all to enjoy it.

The Proof of the Soul

Utterly believable yet completely barking, this is witty, entertaining and well-written. The musings of Falloon are hilarious as are the insights into the thought processes of a modern career woman and a senile old lady. It's a cynical look at corporate ethics mixed with cod-philosophy, amused rather than angry.

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?
Perhaps I should finger myself, since adolescence being rather fascinated by easier scores, mere playthings and fancy bits, but I find the Ring's ominous sounds far more off-putting than those of free jazz, or an organ grinder even, to explore it deeper. Visually too, Ring's performances, full to the brim with all those giants, little men, and ruffians coming in and out of the stage's back-door, don't tickle my fancy.
Then, there's the book itself. Although, surely to many ladies' and gentlemen' delight it's large and thick, it is not hard cover. What's more, it turns out to be basically a sloppily tackled compilation of the outcomes of analytic thrusts from a few dozen chums like George Bernard Shaw, Georg Solti and Andrew Porter, many of whom I didn't suspect in the slightest of having it in them for Wagner's Ring. They may occasionally get to the bottom of things, presenting different positions and points of view, but you will get a feeling of being stuffed with quantity rather than quality. So, the book rightly deserves its one *.
To those inclined this way I do recommend Stephen Fry's Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music (Paperback). Fry is a self-professed lover of the Ring and certainly much more of an expert in this area than the good old fella Shaw.

I am a great fan of other titles in the "Ring Penenetration" series, but this one was a real let down. For a start, it's a book, and there are barely any illustrations, let alone photographs. Also, Dick Wagner (Shades of Dirk Diggler?) does not seem to have been temperamentally suited to a passive role. Finally, though I loved the fat chicks with the strap-on horns, someone should have warned me at the start about the dwarfs!