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The Perfect Wagnerite

Philosophical commentary on Der Ring des Nibelungen by George Bernard Shaw
from archive.org

LibriVox recording of The Perfect Wagnerite, by George Bernard Shaw.

Read by Bob Neufeld.

The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring (originally published London, 1898) is a philosophical commentary on Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, by the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. Shaw offered it to those enthusiastic admirers of Wagner who "were unable to follow his ideas, and do not in the least understand the dilemma of Wotan." He interprets the Ring in Marxian terms as an allegory of the collapse of capitalism from its internal contradictions. Musicologically, his interpretation is noteworthy for its perception of the change in aesthetic direction beginning with the final scene of Siegfried, in which he claimed that the cycle turns from Musikdrama back towards opera. (Introduction by Wikipedia)

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M4B Audiobook (130MB)

  1. Prefaces and Encouragements (22.3Mb)
  2. The Ring of the Niblungs/The Rhine Gold (38.1Mb)
  3. Wagner As Revolutionist (13.3Mb)
  4. The Valkyries (19.9Mb)
  5. Siegfried (24.8Mb)
  6. Back To Opera Again - Siegfried Concluded (32Mb)
  7. Night Falls On The Gods (25.2Mb)
  8. Forgotten Ere Finished/Why He Changed His Mind (22.2Mb)
  9. Wagner's Own Explanation/The Pessimist As Amorist (15.8Mb)
  10. The Music of The Ring (36.3Mb)
  11. Bayreuth/Wagnerian Singers (12.5Mb)

MP3 files hosted by archive.org.