Peter,
Don't waste your money on Tchaikosky, Robert. Save up for the real thing. ;^)
If you mean by the real thing Wagner, I will ‘waste my money’ on his Italian contemporary.
"Well Peter, Wagner's operas did please the Nazis..."
Pleased 'em so much they banned some of them. Is this supposed to be funny, Robert?
Since it was followed by “Proctologists hand out business cards as you leave.”, you might think so.
Some Nazi ideologues had doubts. In 1939, apparently on the orders of Joseph Goebbels, performances of Parsifal were banned but it had nothing to do with the bulk of Wagner’s work, but rather to an over reaction to Parsifal’s blatant Christian sentimentality.
The Nazi party was led by Adolf Hitler, who was as fanatical about Wagner's music as he was about Aryan superiority. (For those who do not know Hitler was a professed Christian.)
Concerning Wagner I like the following:
Rossini said of Wagner that “he had some good moments but some dreadful quarter-hours”;
Mark Twain said, “Wagner’s music isn’t as bad as it sounds”;
Woody Allen quipped that, “Wagner gives you the urge to invade Poland.” ;
and even with Adolf Hitler who said, “He who does not know Wagner does not know Germany!”
I have met Wolfgang and attended performances at Bayreuth. I do not consider this fact a spectacular moment in my life. I prefer Verdi, Puccini, and yes Tchaikovsky, which I suppose says something about my sense of life.
PS—I am also glad Beethoven’s 9th is no longer in Wagner’s hands.
PPS--We agreee on Birgit Nilsson.
(Edited by Robert Davison on 6/25, 10:01am)
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