I have been reading Bryan Magee's book called 'Aspects of Wagner' first published in 1968. In the first chapter he discusses Wagner's theory of Opera. All very interesting if you like Wagner and/or classical music. I would like to share some thoughts for discussion here.
A passage struck me as interesting in terms of the questions that are raised by Wagner's view of Christian perspectives on the human condition, morals and consequent actions. I couldn't help thinking about this interpretation of Christianity and contemporary government and media attitudes to the fears and anxieties expressed about people and communities. It could be argued that modern humanity is often portrayed, through media and the laws that are made, as dangerous and potentially harmful and that lack of trust in people and communities is prevalent and encouraged. Working in schools, this is a common perception. In Wagner's books 'The Work of Art of the Future' (1849), 'Opera and Drama' (1850-1) and 'A Message to my Friends' (1851) he describes how Greek Tragedy was the highest point in human creative achievement. It was a form that embraced all the arts and drew on timeless myths to make its meanings. For Wagner, Greek tragedy was a religion of the purely human and a celebration of life. Sophocles has his Chorus in 'Antigone' say: "Numberless are the world's wonders, but none/more wonderful than man..." Wagner wanted opera to have a similar aesthetic to Greek tragedy. Magee paraphrases how Wagner describes the power of Greek Tragedy, which captured the summation of living and was slowly disintegrated:
"In any case its available content dissolved when Greek humanism was superseded by Christianity, a religion that divided man against himself, teaching him to look on his body with shame, his emotions with suspicion, sensuality with fear, sexual love with feelings of guilt. This life, it taught, is a burden, this world a vale of tears, our endurance of which we will be rewarded in death, which is the gateway to eternal bliss. In effect this religion was, as it was bound to be, anti-art. The alienation of man from his own nature, especially his emotional nature; the all pervading hypocrisy to which this gave rise throughout the Christian era; the devaluation of life and the world and hence, inevitably, their wonderfulness; the conception of man as being not a god but a worm, and a guilty one at that; all this is profoundly at odds with the very nature and existence of art" (Magee, 1968:6)
Needless to say, everyone knows that a great deal of Wagner's beliefs were vile and revolting. His music, it can be argued, as Magee does, is wonderful despite some of these horrible ideas. However, it is worthy of discussion to ask if this interpretation of Christianity and its approach to a conception of humanity can be seen manifested within modern government approaches to the construction of a society ethos. As normal, I offer no view here and simply want to open debate.
