Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round: Commentaries on the Ring of the Nibelung

Commentary on and a concise, lucid interpretation of the opera world's most complex masterwork, expanded from the author's popular intermission talks during Met Opera broadcasts.

Lee (classics, St. Michael's Coll., Univ. of Toronto) is a frequent guest on the Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, where his lucid, witty, and learned comments both instruct and entertain. Based on his commentaries during the Ring Cycle's presentation on four consecutive April weekends in 1989, the book takes its title from C.S. Lewis's remarks upon first seeing Arthur Rackham's illustrations for the Cycle: "The sky had turned round. . . . Pure Northerness engulfed me." In a concise, beautifully shaped style, Lee summarizes the plot and analyzes each opera musically and psychologically while also examining the mythological roots and the meaning this work can hold for today's audience. The result is a readable critical essay that celebrates its subject and makes one eager to hear the operas. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries with strong music collections.
- Beverly True, Cumberland Regional Lib., Amherst, Nova Scotia
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.