Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses

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End date: 2020 × Start date: 2012 × Type: PhD thesis × Subject: collaboration × Subject: opera ×

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    'A universal art, an art for all'?: The reception of Richard Wagner in the Parisian Press, 1933–1944
    ORZECH, RACHEL ( 2016)
    From the time that Wagner began to feature as a subject of interest in the French press, writers, critics, and journalists used their discussions of the composer, his music and his writings to articulate ideas about France and Germany. Debate about Wagner became a means to examine national identity, musical and cultural identity, and the Franco-German relationship. This thesis examines the reception of Richard Wagner through the lens of the Parisian press between 1933 and 1944. It follows a body of literature that investigates the reception of Wagner in the French press, particularly in relation to how it reflects upon French identity and the Franco-German relationship. It considers the ways in which the French continued to use Wagner to discuss nation, identity and culture during the period of the Third Reich, and the extent to which Wagner reception from the 1930s and the Occupation interacted with earlier French reception of Wagner. The thesis also considers the question of continuity and rupture, both between the period 1933–44 and previous periods, and between 1933–39 and the Occupation. It examines the extent to which the dramatic change in the French political landscape—which took place when France was invaded by German troops in the summer of 1940—affected the press reception of Wagner, and what this can tell us about how the French nation thought about itself and its relationship with Germany. The thesis includes an Introduction, followed by five chapters and a short Conclusion. The chapters are organised both chronologically and thematically, covering two main time periods during the Third Reich: 1933–39, and 1940–44. The thesis draws predominantly on sources from the Parisian press, including daily newspapers and weekly or monthly periodicals, supplemented by a limited number of other sources, including musicological and music literature, and concert programme archives. Although the study does not rely heavily on any particular theoretical model, it is situated within the domain of reception theory. This study argues, through an examination of themes emerging from the Parisian press, that Parisians used Wagner to confront Nazism, grapple with the idea of rapprochement, situate France within a potential New Europe, understand past Franco-German conflict, manage life under the Occupation, and come to terms with the policy of Collaboration.