Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art [Paperback]

M. Owen Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 1999

How is it possible for a seriously flawed human being to produce art that is good, true, and beautiful? Why is the art of Richard Wagner, a very imperfect man, important and even indispensable to us?

In this volume, Father Owen Lee ventures an answer to those questions by way of a figure in Sophocles - the hero Philoctetes. Gifted by his god with a bow that would always shoot true to the mark and indispensable to his fellow Greeks, he was marked by the same god with an odious wound that made him hateful and hated. Sophocles' powerful insight is that those blessed by the gods and indispensable to men are visited as well with great vulnerability and suffering.

Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art traces some of Wagner's extraordinary influence for good and ill on a century of art and politics - on Eliot and Proust as well as on Adolf Hitler - and discusses in detail Wagner's Tannhouser, the work in which the composer first dramatised the Faustian struggle of a creative artist in whom 'two souls dwell.' In the course of this penetrating study, Father Lee argues that Wagner's ambivalent art is indispensable to us, life-enhancing and ultimately healing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'If you agree with me that art is a reason to be alive rather than a life-support system, you'll find plenty to stimulate and entertain in this book.'

(Brian Hunt National Post )

About the Author

M. Owen Lee, CSB, is a Catholic priest and Professor Emeritus of Classics at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto. He is a commentator for the Texaco Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts and the author of a number of books on opera, including A Season of Opera: From Orpheus to Ariadne (UTP 1998) and Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art (UTP 199).

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division; 1 edition (September 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802082912
• ISBN-13: 978-0802082916
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #284,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( W ) > Wagner, Richard

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars arguably the most information in the least time, August 6, 2000

By 

Ray Barnes (Surrey, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art (Paperback)

Although this book consists of merely three lectures, and can be finished off in about 2 or 3 hours without difficulty, it has as much fresh insight as many other titles that take much longer to study. The first lecture exploring the influence of classic Greek mythology and cultural recognition through artistic expression - ie roughly how the Greek society established itself through artistic endeavour - gives the reader a pretty clear idea what Wagner was trying to accomplish for Germany through his music dramas, and also confirms a pretty outlandish level of self-confidence to even make such an attempt. The second lecture has some material which has already been covered in other books - notably Aspects of Wagner by Magee - but is still interesting. The final lecture with a detailed study of Tannhauser is excellent, the most interesting commentary on this opera I have read to date. The choice of Wassily Kandinsky's Die Nacht, inspired by Act II of Tristan und Isolde, for the front cover was very appropriate. Strongly recommended.

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE TRUTHFUL ART OF M OWEN LEE, April 3, 2000

By 

S A LEWIS - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art (Paperback)

M. Owen Lee is perhaps best known to opera lovers through his appearances on the Texaco Opera broadcasts, some of which have formed the core of two of his previous books. In his latest book, Father Lee demonstrates the personally committed criticism which is characteristic of his radio lectures. This is no mere apologia for Wagner. The author is painfully aware of Wagner's human failings, not merely the oft-discussed anti-Semitism, and he is troubled by the fact that the music of such a monster could move him so deeply. This book gives us a wonderful insight into the author's soul as he grapples with this question. I especially enjoyed the discussion of "Tannheuser" in the final chapter. (A few years ago I wrote to him about his love of Wagner, and he cared enough to write me a detailed letter in response--another sign of his genuine commitment to the subject). This book tells us not only about Wagner but also about the author himself, who has a unique capability of engaging the reader in a genuine dialogue.

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another great book from M. Owen Lee!, July 2, 2000

By 

David Gottner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wagner: Terrible Man & His Truthful Art (The Larkin-Stuart lectures) (Hardcover)

In this book, M. Owen Lee grapples with the issue of whether we can (and should) enjoy Wagner's art, in the knowledge of Wagner's notorious flaws (such as his fiery anti-semitism, etc.) Drawing from classical Greek mythology, Mr. Lee discusses how it is common for great artists to have flawed personal lives, and that the value of the artwork should therefore be judged independently of its creator. Indeed, the artist creates his art as an act of self-healing. He therefore encourages the enjoyment of the music of Richard Wagner. (Yep, the Wagnerholics of the world can now listen without guilt. :-)

A lot of the material is taken from the book, "Aspects of Wagner", which M. Owen Lee acknowledges as a source. Since I had read these books back-to-back, the repetition of material was easy to see.

There is also a discussion of the opera "Tannhauser", which is discussed in about the same level of detail as his commentaries on the Ring.