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Home » Topics » Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner’s 200th anniversary reignites debate over controversial composer

[Statue Of Composer Richard Wagner Present In The Giardini Of Biennale In Venice, Italy" on Shutterstock]

To some he will never be more than a narcissist, an antisemite and a misogynist. To others he is an undisputed musical genius and towering intellect. Richard Wagner, often described as one of the most controversial Germans of all time, will be commemorated – warts and all – on the…

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Nazi version of Wagner opera shut down in Germany

This handout picture released by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein opera house shows actors playing a scene of the opera Tannhaeuser by German composer Richard Wagner at the Deutsche Oper am Rhen in Duesseldorf (AFP)

A Nazi-themed production of Richard Wagner’s “Tannhauser” opera has been cancelled in Duesseldorf after realistic death scenes distressed audience members, the opera house said Thursday. The Rheinoper said it was aware that the concept and its implementation would be “controversial”. “But it was with great astonishment that we noted that…

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Russian singer says Nazi tattoos not ‘political’

Singer Yevgeny Nikitin via AFP

FRANKFURT — Russian singer Yevgeny Nikitin, who pulled out of his debut at this year’s Bayreuth Festival in a row over a Nazi tattoo, said Sunday the swastika had no political significance for him. The 38-year-old, who was to have taken the title role in a brand-new production of “The…

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