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An invitation to reassess one of the greatest German composers, and consider whether he merits the darkening of his image during the past 60 years.
Wagner has the most villainous reputation of any figure in the arts. He is often held to have inspired Hitler's murderous anti-Semitism, and an army of ruthless mercenaries-the Wagner Group-has taken its name from him. Yet many of the worst things laid to his charge are based on misconstruction or even fabrication: on a letter he never wrote, or opinions he never expressed. Key passages in Cosima Wagner's diaries have been misinterpreted through failure to check their background. In Wagner: The Invention of a Monster, Derek Hughes re examines this controversial figure, tracing the progressive falsifications of his opinions from the 1960s to the present day. There is much new research into the early reception and understanding of his operas, and Hughes contrasts modern assessments of the composer with those current in Wagner's own era, and then during the Third Reich. Ultimately, the book reaches a perhaps surprising conclusion: many modern critics see more Nazism in Wagner than the Nazis ever did.
Wagner has the most villainous reputation of any figure in the arts. He is often held to have inspired Hitler's murderous anti-Semitism, and an army of ruthless mercenaries-the Wagner Group-has taken its name from him. Yet many of the worst things laid to his charge are based on misconstruction or even fabrication: on a letter he never wrote, or opinions he never expressed. Key passages in Cosima Wagner's diaries have been misinterpreted through failure to check their background. In Wagner: The Invention of a Monster, Derek Hughes re examines this controversial figure, tracing the progressive falsifications of his opinions from the 1960s to the present day. There is much new research into the early reception and understanding of his operas, and Hughes contrasts modern assessments of the composer with those current in Wagner's own era, and then during the Third Reich. Ultimately, the book reaches a perhaps surprising conclusion: many modern critics see more Nazism in Wagner than the Nazis ever did.
Price: $69.95
Pages: 300
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Lutterworth Press
Publication Date:
30 July 2026
Trim Size: 9.02 X 5.98 in
ISBN: 9780718898670
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Artists, Architects, Photographers, Biography: arts and entertainment, MUSIC / Individual Composer & Musician, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Classical, Composers and songwriters
Decades of ill-informed comment have entrenched the notion of Wagner as a rabid racist whose worldview instigated the genocidal ideology of the Nazis. The historical evidence, as marshalled in Derek Hughes's meticulously researched, contextually grounded study, offers a far more nuanced picture. In the process he demolishes the stereotypical notion of a monstrously arrogant, devious egoist, revealing a compassionate, generous man, albeit flawed and bigoted. One fervently hopes Hughes's study will deliver us once and for all from the mindless consensus that has so long bedevilled a true understanding of Wagner's character and beliefs.
If you feel uneasy at all the mud too easily thrown at Wagner, this book is for you. Contrariwise, if you believe the mud is justified and Wagner really was responsible for the Third Reich, this is the book against which you should check your prejudice.
Derek Hughes seeks to "trace and reverse the process of fictionalisation" that has demonized Wagner, "to unpick the error, anachronism, and downright bad faith on which it is founded." Hughes accomplishes this with astonishing success, showing through careful research and analysis that the truth is often the exact opposite of the assertions, whilst at the same time not overlooking or defending Wagner's egregious and indefensible behavior. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in a fair assessment of Richard Wagner and his legacy.
If you feel uneasy at all the mud too easily thrown at Wagner, this book is for you. Contrariwise, if you believe the mud is justified and Wagner really was responsible for the Third Reich, this is the book against which you should check your prejudice.
Derek Hughes seeks to "trace and reverse the process of fictionalisation" that has demonized Wagner, "to unpick the error, anachronism, and downright bad faith on which it is founded." Hughes accomplishes this with astonishing success, showing through careful research and analysis that the truth is often the exact opposite of the assertions, whilst at the same time not overlooking or defending Wagner's egregious and indefensible behavior. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in a fair assessment of Richard Wagner and his legacy.
Acknowledgments
Illustrations
Texts and Abbreviations
Section I. Rabid and Virulent
1. The Accusations
2. A Pogrom in Russia
3. A Theatre Fire
Section II. The Road to 'Das Judenthum in der Musik'
4. Meyerbeer
5. Revolution
6. 'Das Judenthum in der Musik'
Section III : Jewish Villains?
7. Tannhäuser and Lohengrin
8. The Ring Alberich and Mime
9. The Jew in the Thornbush
10. Parsifal. Rassenschande?
Section IV: Views of Wagner to 1945
11. Alberich and Mime. Two Early Views
12. Alberich and Mime. Further Early Views
13. Die Meistersinger, from Wagner to Hitler
14. Parsifal. The Fortunes of Kundry
15. Wagner's Reputation
Section V. Wagner without Sensationalism
16. Race (1)
17. Jewish Genes
18. Race (2)
19. Good Jews and Jewish Friends
20. Nationalism
21. Jews in the Press. Three Case Studies
1. Usury
2. Darabani
3. A Harsh Winter
Appendix
Fotor Judaïcus: A Cautionary Tale
Wagner and 'the Jew Guggenheim'
Bibliography
Illustrations
Texts and Abbreviations
Section I. Rabid and Virulent
1. The Accusations
2. A Pogrom in Russia
3. A Theatre Fire
Section II. The Road to 'Das Judenthum in der Musik'
4. Meyerbeer
5. Revolution
6. 'Das Judenthum in der Musik'
Section III : Jewish Villains?
7. Tannhäuser and Lohengrin
8. The Ring Alberich and Mime
9. The Jew in the Thornbush
10. Parsifal. Rassenschande?
Section IV: Views of Wagner to 1945
11. Alberich and Mime. Two Early Views
12. Alberich and Mime. Further Early Views
13. Die Meistersinger, from Wagner to Hitler
14. Parsifal. The Fortunes of Kundry
15. Wagner's Reputation
Section V. Wagner without Sensationalism
16. Race (1)
17. Jewish Genes
18. Race (2)
19. Good Jews and Jewish Friends
20. Nationalism
21. Jews in the Press. Three Case Studies
1. Usury
2. Darabani
3. A Harsh Winter
Appendix
Fotor Judaïcus: A Cautionary Tale
Wagner and 'the Jew Guggenheim'
Bibliography