Wagnerism in Fin-de-siècle French Literature: Music, Aesthetics and Cultural Rivalry Between France and Germany

At the centre of Tristan und Isolde lies an epistemological confusion between erotic love and death, as symbolised by Brangäne’s substitution of one potion for another. The history of nineteenth-century French Wagnerism is characterised by the same dual pull towards love—the beatification of Wagner and his aesthetics—and death—the reinterpretation and, at times, radical questioning of those ideas. I contend that this tension between opposites is what made French Wagnerism the most fruitful of all Wagnerian movements in Europe. Nowhere is this truer than in nineteenth-century French literature, where pro-Wagner writers explored radical new forms and ideas—like interior monologue, free verse, poetic paraphrases of music and musico-literary parodies—in turn, influencing a further generation of French writers, visual artists and composers.

This talk retraces the history of the Symbolist and Decadent literary response to Wagner in France from the 1860s up until the First World War while excavating the musical networks with which these writers engaged.

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During this event, the Grainger Museum will be open from 5:30pm and the talk itself will start at 6pm.

Bookings encouraged, drop-ins welcome.

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Image credit: Cham – Le Charivari, April 22, 1877, Impressionist painters could double the effect of their exhibition on the public by having Wagner's music performed there.

Contact the host of Music Research Forum | Adeline Heck on Wagnerism in Fin-de-siècle French Literature

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