Wagner and the Creation of the Ring

Michael Downes

Part cultural history, part biography, this is the fascinating story of Richard Wagner’s life, influences, gift for storytelling, and artistic revolution, culminating in his dramatic journey to write The Ring Cycle.

The Ring Cycle is one of the most epic and compelling operas of the nineteenth century, created by a composer who was, alongside Dickens, Tolstoy, and Victor Hugo, also one of the century’s master storytellers. But the story of how Richard Wagner created the work is one full of intrigue and triumphs against unlikely odds—as well as controversy, due to the composer’s anti-semitic views and popularity with the Nazi party.

In Wagner and the Creation of the Ring, Michael Downes combines cultural history and biography to recount the colorful, fascinating, and insightful journey behind the creation of The Ring and its mythology. He tells the story of how and why this extraordinary masterpiece came into being, why it takes the form it does, why it fascinates and obsesses so many—and horrifies others—and why it still matters today.

Michael Downes is a celebrated conductor, writer, lecturer, and co-author of The Wagners: The Dramas of a Musical Dynasty (Princeton University Press) editions. He is the director of music at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Before moving to Scotland, he conducted numerous choral, operatic, orchestral, and contemporary music groups across England.

Buy it now in print:

Buy it now in ebook:

Endorsements & Reviews

"A breathtaking account of the creation of one of the most astonishing works of art ever attempted, the work of one of the most extraordinary artists who ever lived. The revelation of Wagner's mind and temperament at work is as illuminating as it is astonishing."

Simon Callow

"The book's prose is anchored so deep in the rhythm of the Ring that if you know the music you'll hear it in your head as you read." The Spectator