Customer Reviews

Wagner's Ring: A Listener's Companion and Concordance

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

 

 

Those considering buying this book should be aware of what it is: a concordance written by a non-specialist. Readers seeking interpretive essays or reviews may be disappointed.

That point made, this book is a wonderful tool to improve one's understanding of Wagner's Ring. The concondance lists the appearance of all the important themes, issues, emotions, and characters. This would be particularly useful for students or others anaylzing the work. The organization and presentation of this section is clear. The addition of plot summaries, reviews of productions, and various discussions create a well-rounded volume.

The fact that the book is written by a non-specialist is most refreshing: discussions of characters, plot developments, and so forth are wonderfully lucid. They are insightful, without being burdened by some of the heavy jargon found in some works. Every page reveals the author's love and respect for his subject. His reviews of stage productions and sound recordings are informative and fresh. Here again, common sense prevails over musicological jargon.

In short, this book gives a wealth of practical knowledge about Wagner's vast opera cycle, and is a pleasure to read.

I found this book useful on many accounts when first enjoying the Ring, but I don't think it transcends the basic much in the way that it would appeal to a veteran of the Ring. It contains a scene by scene synopsis of the operas, but this is hardly adequate compared to a libretto. The character analysis, however, is helpful in that it details possible sources for each of the characters. In the end, I'm not sure if I would be as knowledgable in the Ring if I had never read this book, but I find I haven't used it very often as of late, which tells me it is not a very enduring read, though I still listen to the cycle itself regularly and dig up new topics and controversies when I can. Speaking of controversy, a testament to the book's lack of advanced Wagnerite materials is that it contains no essays or analysis of controversial material (such as the age-old controversy around why Siegmund sings the Renunciation of Love motif when he does). One of the best features of this book, however, is the section detailing each recording of the Ring. It contains a very indepth chart, for each recording supplying what each opera times in at, who is singing each part, and a small review for each of them. But then, this isn't entirely revolutionary when we have Amazon.com. In the end, I must confess that this is an excellent gift to give someone who is beginning to delve into the Ring (I graciously received this and the Solti Ring as a gift one Christmas), but not necessary for an advanced Wagnerite.

Even though this is written by and aimed at "nonmusicologists," this book nicely synthesizes the major Wagner viewpoints. The non-pedantic approach makes this very readable. I appreciate the opinions, whether I agree or not. Perhaps because this is written by an interested amateur (though very widely-read and knowledgable), the opinions do not come off sounding like the reviewer who asserts as a fact that "the finest Wagner performances are not from the studio but broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera during the 30's and 40's when they had Flagstad, Traubel, Lehmann, Melchior" et al. Overall, a fine book to have as you listen to the Ring in your living room or prepare for a full cycle at the opera.

My recent trip to the Met for Wagner's epic tale was greatly enhanced by Holman's insights. No would-be Ringmeister should be without it.

Wagner's "Ring" cycle can be daunting to even the well initiated. The four-opera, 18-hour tale takes us from the watery pianissimo beginnings of the world itself to its fiery, fortissimo end. In between there's no shortage of high adventure, murder, forbidden love, treachery and greed - and that's just among those in the audience!

But Holman deftly avoids the usual heavy-handedness and technicalities as he guides us through the complex tale with entertaining plot summaries and cogent explanations. His analysis of the work's many gods, mortals, dwarfs, heldentenors and their musical themes is masterful.

An added bonus is the extensive concordance which lets the reader quickly look up references to more than 160 key words or names from the dramas. Your snobby musical friends will be very impressed! They probably think a concordance is a ballet aboard an SST.

You could spend years perusing the hundreds of volumes and millions of words that have been written about the "Ring" in its 120 years of life. But why? Just read Holman's book and get a life! The Master of Bayreuth himself would approve.

The Ring is such a vast and complext work of art, it is impossible to say everything there is to be said in just one book. Novices to the Ring need a no-nonsense, down-to-earth introduction to help them pull together the various elements and get the most enjoyment of this tetralogy. Mr. Holman does an excellent job of explaining the important myths, motifs, elements without going into heavy jargon that could intimidate readers. He takes one of many many themes -- Woman's Worth -- and shows how Wagner uses music and drama and symbols to express this theme. I especially valued the concordance to the Ring. Mr. Holman's book is well-documented and researched. It has been valuable in my own research on the Ring.

More volumes have been written about Wagner and his RING than probably any other musical work. Given the complexity of the RING, prior books focus on an introduction for novices while others are more detailed for seasoned Wagnerites. Holman tries to combine both into one badly written, pedantic volume and succeeds only in being neither fish nor foul.
Part of Holman's failure comes from an incomplete and superficial knowledge of the RING. Just because someone sits through a work, even one less complex than the RING, one does not become an expert. It takes an intellectual process that is beyond Holman's capacity. What he gives us is a useless and self-congratulating "bean-counting" of who is in what scene. What matters is not how many scenes in which Wotan appears. What's important is the dramatic reason for the appearances and how it propels the action to its inevitable conclusion.
Recordings are important and Holman's prejudices here are absurd. Neophytes may be swayed by his blanket assertion that the Solti recording is "the" RING, which it most assuredly is not. If there are no definitive recordings of even one Beethoven symphony or Verdi's OTELLO, how much more impossible would it be to achieve the definitive in a far more encompassing work? Holman also has a prejudice against live recordings. Too bad for him because the finest Wagner performances are not from the studio but broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera during the 30's and 40's when they had Flagstad, Traubel, Lehmann, Melchior, Schorr, and Huehn under the batons of true Wagnerians like Bodanzky and Leinsdorf. Then there are the Bayreuth recordings of the 50's and 60's but Holman denegrates these as well. Such shallowness!
Don't waste your money. I'm surprised a publisher like Amadeus would publish something so amateurish. If you really MUST have this, wait for it to show up on the $1 remainder table. It shouldn't take long.