Opera and Modern Culture: Wagner and Strauss (review)

Abstract

and Modern Culture: Wagner and Strauss. By Lawrence Kramer. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. [257 p. ISBN 0-520-241738. $39.95.] Music examples, bibliographical notes, index. On page 221 of this, his latest book, author Lawrence Kramer acknowledges often slippery nature of his prose and defiantly states his intention to continue in that way for few remaining pages of epilogue: writing [in this book] has drawn no firm line between evocation and explanation, metaphor and theory. On contrary: lines have been crossed or effaced time and again. (Disgruntled parties take note: I know about this breakdown. I do it on purpose. I will do it again here.) With only seven pages left to body of and Modern Culture: Wagner and Strauss, that warning comes a bit late for anyone who picks up this book without knowing who Kramer is or his distinctive approach to music criticism. Such people, at least in world of musicology, are rare if non-existent, however, which is just another way of saying that no one reading this book should ever be surprised by what lies between its covers. In fact, followers of Kramer's writings may already know much of this volume, since four of its seven chapters have already appeared elsewhere in earlier versions going back as far as 1990 and a fifth is reprinted here without significant changes. Any of these chapters might be read independently of others, although Kramer sees them as part of a larger project. Their common topic, as book's title says, is opera, which Kramer prefers to spell with a capital O to distinguish one of genre's ideal types, which in this case he defines as the version of inaugurated by Richard Wagner in middle years of nineteenth century and brought to its logical but also its fatal conclusion by Richard Strauss in first years of twentieth (p. 2). For Kramer, of course, subject is never just music, but rather music as a tool for addressing larger cultural issues. As he states, initiative [of this book] could be described as an attempt to 'think through Opera' in two overlapping senses: to think with some fullness about phenomenon of Opera, and to think about matters of general worldly concern by means of Opera (p. 2). Among issues addressed by Kramer are audibility of anti-Semitic content in Prelude to Lohengrin, intermingling of nationalism and sexual identity in Der Ring des Nibelungm, and ways in which some later composers responded to Richard Wagner's music. The chapters on Richard Strauss's Salome and Elektra, respectively, deal with feminist issues, while remaining chapter investigates intersection of Modernism and video reproductions. Inevitably, Kramer turns to writings of Walter Benjamin, Pierre Bourdieu, Jacques Derrida, Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Zizek, and many others for small group of that underpin his arguments. Kramer also states his intention to weigh down his prose with too much of language typically associated with his brand of criticism, and to his credit, argot of new musicology does overwhelm this book. Nevertheless, there are many passages where musical object under discussion is left behind for an extended detour into social, political, or theoretical matters. In fact, as Kramer notes, guiding concepts do most of their work from background, taking on new forms and figurations to fit needs of discussion as it unfolds (p. 3). Whether those concepts remain far enough in background will depend upon one's interest in and enthusiasm for Kramer's approach. For those whose primary interest is music, answer will probably be not enough, but even those who do usually turn to Kramer for enlightenment should be able to find some things of value here. Readers of all stripes might begin with Chapter 2, Contesting Wagner: The Lohengrin Prelude and Anti-anti-Semitism, which is most impressive piece of work in this book. …