Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round by M. Owen Lee
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Book Reviews of Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round
Book Review: An excellent introduction to the Ring.
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the book that first taught me to appreciate Wagner's Ring cycle. Before reading this book, I had tried to watch the Met telecasts and listen to the music, but I confess that I actually found Wagner boring. Then, one year, my father gave me this small book as a Christmas present.Since then, I have read and re-read the book, and listened to the operas over and over again. I have seriously considered becoming a collector of Ring recordings; I own the Bohm version recorded at Bayreuth, the Solti version and the Karajan version. I have gone from being indifferent to Wagner to being a Wagnerolater, and Father Lee's book is what set this off.
The book may not be of as much use to someone who is already well versed in Wagner scholarship, however it is an excellent introduction to the Ring cycle. It exposed me for the first time to the depths of Ring interpretation. It also ably explained Wagner's musical techniques and his historical context in ways that the layperson can easily understand. For understanding the various leitmotifs in the index, some musical training is helpful, but having a recording of the Ring by your side should help to make up for any deficiencies in this department.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting to know Wagner, and interested in understanding how he can weave such a spell over his audiences. This book opened my own eyes; it can do the same for you.
Book Review: Great introduction to the Ring
Summary: 5 Stars
Father Lee's book is essentially a fleshing out of some radio commentary given on the Ring cycle. While it is a short book and a quick read, it is insightful, deep, and well worth study and discussion.
There is no single 'correct' way to interpret Wagner's giant gesamtkunstwerk, one reason why so many books of interpretations and analysis of the pieces struggle for shelf space. This one makes a worthy addition to the pile.
Readers new to the Ring will find the synopsis and discussion of each opera informative and most valuable in getting them started to a basic understanding. Those more familiar with the Ring should find much to think about and compare with their own or other interpretations.
Supplemental to the text are suggested recordings, short reviews of additional books worth investigating, and a brief list of some of Wagner's more well-known musical motifs. There are more complete such lists and references available, but again for the novice these will all be of great help.
I found Lee's book informative, fascinating, and useful.
Book Review: Superb introduction for the novice.
Summary: 5 Stars
This little book is an excellent introduction for folks like myself who have tried for years to make sense of the cycle. The narration gives a plot synopsis followed by the author's view of the meaning behind the drama. I have always been fascinated by Wagner's Ring Cycle though I do not know German. I have been very intrigued by the music. Well this book gave me a tiny little bit to get me going.
Much of Father Owens' analysis may not meet with everyone's interpretation of the cycle but it does make one think.
There is a section at the end that contains written music. My knowledge of reading music is very scant so I just ignored that section. It is not germane to the narrative because one can get these examples by listening to the work. For good examples get An Introduction To Wagner's Der Ring Des Nebulungen by Deryck Cooke on CD. Mr. Cooke's CD gives audio examples that one can appreciate without knowing how to read music.
Book Review: A wonderful vademecum for a tour of Wagner's Ring
Summary: 5 Stars
M. Owen Lee is a genial fixture on the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts and a professor of Classics at St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto. He has published a couple books of his intermission-break talks on various operas in the Met repertory but his introduction to the four music dramas comprising Wagner's Ring cycle is indispensible; along with late record producer John Culshaw's Reflections on Wagner's Ring (and I suppose G.B. Shaw's socialist rant The Perfect Wagnerite), it helps both newcomers and veterans to form their own viewpoint of the great tetralogy. Lee's allusive and literate prose warms the heart and feeds the mind. A brief but excellent companion for those bound to opera house or sound system to intoxicate themselves with potent, magical music.Book Review: Beautiful introduction to Wagner's Ring
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the work I most often recommend to newcomers to the Ring. The book's conciseness is one of its strengths--the essays and plot summaries of each of the operas are insightful and apropos, but not overwhelming. Owen Lee's incredible love for the subject at hand is evident on every page. As a classicist, I find the connections he draws between Wagner's work and Greco-Roman myth and literature fascinating.
For me personally, the only downside to the book is the appendix of recommended audio and film productions in the back, which has not been updated since publication in the 90s and comes down very hard on non-traditional interpretations.