Richard Wagner and Medieval Drama

Composer Richard Wagner wanted to create miracles with his operas, like medieval dramatists who wanted to produce miracles on stage to dazzle and convert an audience of pagans. The dramatists of the Middle Ages inspired many of Wagner’s works as well as served as a source of more symbolic connections that describe the arc of his work’s intent.

This book is the first to explain how Wagner’s operas were structured around the format of medieval theater, allowing the composer to include miracles in his work while criticizing Christianity, thus adding fascinating and impressive aspects to his operas.

John Louis DiGaetani, professor emeritus of English at Hofstra University, is the author of numerous books about opera and theater.