
Preface
Anyone who writes about music is drawn to Wagner like the proverbial moth to a flame. Although I would call myself a Wagnerian and attend performances of his music dramas whenever I can, I do not revere his music in the same way as Bach’s, Mozart’s or that of several other composers. Nonetheless, the sheer fact of Wagner, his output, intellect and personality is unavoidable, and it is impossible fully to understand modern culture without an acquaintance with him.
If I had to be without all Wagner’s operas except one, I would keep Meistersinger. indeed, I think it is my favourite of all operas. The purpose of this essay is not to explain why, but to see whether it can be defended against the charge of anti-Semitism rightly made against Wagner, though more controversially levelled against his musical works. In a later essay, I address the same question in the context of Parsifal. It is a question that will not go away, but as regards the operas themselves perhaps it should.