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The Dictator

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The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Wagner & Me (Film)

by Emmet O'Cuana | March 03, 2011 10:41 | Edited March 03, 2011 10:42

A revealing look into the life of this fascinating composer made all the more enjoyable thanks to Fry’s witty commentary and obvious enthusiasm.

Some people who hear extracts from Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung - a series of four epic operas dubbed the Ring Cycle - probably think first of Robert Duvall declaring his love for the smell of napalm, or Elmer Fudd chanting ‘Kill the Wabbit! Kill the Wabbit!' Stephen Fry is not one of those people. A devoted fan of Wagner since the age of 11, Wagner & Me chronicles Fry's pilgrimage to the town of Bayreuth in Germany for the annual festival celebrating the work of the controversial composer.

 

In preparation, he follows in his hero's footsteps from Switzerland where Wagner spent ten years in exile, to the concert halls of Europe and Russia where the Ring Cycle first took shape. This history of the life of Wagner addresses the many troubling aspects of the composer's life, including his extravagant spending, philandering and of course his noted Anti-Semitism.

 

Fry is disturbed by the ties between the composer and the Nazi movement. Early in his political career, Adolf Hitler was welcomed by Wagner's family to Bayreuth and after he became chancellor, appointed himself patron of the festival. The Nazi Party even drew upon the mythical imagery of Wagner's operas to create the infamous Nuremberg Rallies.

 

When Fry visits Nuremberg the contrast cannot be more telling, with the archive footage of goose-stepping Nazis replaced with scattered tourist families and rollerbladers. Fry's enthusiasm for the music, however, is infectious, such as when sitting on a staircase listening to a performance of Träume, or meeting a group of Valkyries backstage.

 

Though distractingly decked out in hot pink trousers, Fry's witty presentation on the life of Wagner is both heartfelt and insightful.