I remember watching the ‘Le veau d’or’ section irl as a kid and being just blown away

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzCxoMbmZfA

the bulgarian basso Boris Christoff is potus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muy6DtnZ2Xg

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5895638&forum_id=2).#50083120)

whenever i watch this i think of faggy dork lawyers shuffling into midtown in their jos a banks and allen edmonds getting cucked by their wives at home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pieIgmpZ4Ro

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5895638&forum_id=2).#50083182)

Richard Wagner revolutionized opera through his concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, which loosely translates to “complete work of art.” He defined Gesamtkunstwerk as the synthesis of many art forms into one cohesive oeuvre. Throughout his illustrious career, Wagner sought to conjoin musical, visual and dramatic art into an all-embracing theatrical work that fit this ideal.

Wagner wrote about Gesamtkunstwerk extensively, most notably in his essays “Art and Revolution” and “The Artwork of the Future,” and in his book “Opera and Drama.” In these texts, he argued that the Ancient Greeks, particularly the tragedian Aeschylus, had come the closest to creating a Gesamtkunstwerk but insisted that even their works were still flawed. Wagner also laid out the foundation for his own plans for a Gesamtkunstwerk, presented his vision for the future of music, and highlighted the importance of bringing life to art, famously saying, “The purpose of art is to make the unconscious conscious.”

Wagner believed that only he could achieve this and was obsessed with doing so. He was one of the first composers ever to write the libretti for his operas in addition to the music, and he even went so far as to commission new instruments to be made for his operas, including the famous Wagner tuba. Towards the end of his life, he took his efforts a step further, building a new theater in Bayreuth, Germany, specifically designed to perform his operas.

One of the most critical elements in Wagner’s work is the leitmotif. Leitmotifs are short, recurring musical themes associated with people, places or objects. They are essential to Gesamtkunstwerk because they help harmonize the music with the plot. A prime example of Wagner’s masterful and unique use of leitmotifs is the Tristan chord from Tristan und Isolde. This eerie theme frequently appears throughout the opera and constantly shifts from major to minor keys, reflecting Tristan’s changing feelings. The chord is first introduced in the prelude, representing Tristan’s pain and longing, and resolves in the closing bars of the opera after Tristan’s death, bringing full closure to the piece. With the development of a simple theme, Wagner tells a whole story through music.

Another good example of Wagner’s leitmotifs comes towards the end of Die Walküre. At this point in the story, Wotan punishes his daughter, Brünnhilde, for betraying him by laying her atop a mountain and putting her to eternal sleep. He surrounds her with magical flames and declares that “only he who fears nothing” shall be able to penetrate the fire and awaken her. As Wotan speaks these words, the orchestra prophetically plays the leitmotif for Siegfried, the man who will, later in the story, overcome the flames and wake Brünnhilde. Even though the character of Siegfried has yet to be born — and even though the audience hasn’t even been introduced to Siegfried’s character yet — Wagner, once again demonstrating his innate ability to tell a story through music, gives the audience a glimpse of what is to come through his leitmotif. This powerful tool makes Gesamtkunstwerk all the sweeter.

Wagner realized his Gesamtkunstwerk dream in his magnum opus: the operatic tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen, also known as the Ring Cycle. This piece, over sixteen total hours in duration, took Wagner 22 years to complete. It is divided into four individual operas — Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung — which are typically performed on four separate nights of a week-long festival. The Ring Cycle, especially when performed at the Bayreuth theater, is considered the epitome of Gesamtkunstwerk, combining music, theater, poetry, and drama in one cathartic experience. Nearly 150 years after Wagner’s death, fans still go to the Bayreuth Festival to see this masterpiece.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5895638&forum_id=2).#50083905)