Published by the Wagner Journal and arguably central in assisting an understanding of Wagner's thought and work:Wagner 200 is proud to announce, as part of its Wagner the Writer strand, a new translation by Emma Warner of one of Wagner’s most important essays: Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft (The Artwork of the Future). The essay is one of the group of three written by Wagner in 1849–51, immediately before starting work on the Ring, in which he formulated his ideas about the Gesamtkunstwerk (Total Work of Art). In Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft Wagner sets out his fundamental principles of music drama. The essay amounts to nothing less than a radical overturning of the whole system of operatic production and is of enormous significance for opera audiences and practitioners today.
The translation, by Emma Warner, is the first to have been undertaken since William Ashton Ellis published his notoriously impenetrable version in 1895. The publication is prefaced by essays written by Keith Warner, the director of the highly acclaimed Ring at Covent Garden, and Jonathan Coffey. The translation is published as a special issue of The Wagner Journal, distributed free to subscribers and available on general sale throughout Wagner 200. To obtain a copy of this new translation, click here.
Edit: Following a request: To clarify how you might buy a copy:
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2. By sending a sterling cheque to The Administrator, The Wagner Journal, PO Box 57714, London NW11 1DL, England.
