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Who's Who and What's What in Wagner

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Who's Who and What's What in Wagner will put you in touch with the kind of classical education you may have missed but realize you need especially if you are a late blooming opera fan. And if there is any apprehension about approaching Wagnerian opera, it is neatly dispelled through the no-nonsense descriptions of all of Wagner's characters, major or minor, in his musical works. The format is a simple alphabetizing of characters which makes cross-researching an easy affair. There are full blow-by-blow chronological descriptions of the characters each time they step on stage with wonderful character study summations at the conclusion of the entry.

The work explains the characters` domestic and personal struggles that we so readily (and lazily) recognize, then places their godly or ungodly doings in the context of the particular work along with the larger allegorical meaning. Other Wagnerian themes such as "water" or "sex" are gratefully included, the latter essential to understanding the endlessly sung dialogue between Tristan and Isolde.

Who's Who... is essential homework reading before you attend any Wagnerian performance and a revelation after you've seen one. Jonathan Lewsey does not hesitate to point out discrepancies or lapses of logic in the plots. Star Wars and Star Trek fans, late-blooming or not, will also find those universes enhanced by recognizing similar mythological underpinnings.

This is an outstanding reference book.