'The promise is great: a 'dissonant' reading of Wagner's operas for the 'New' Millennium. This rich and varied account of Wagner as understood at the beginning of the 21st century summarizes and continues those powerful debates that so marked the close of the 20th century: the debate about Wagner and anti-Semitism leads now into an original reading of 'Wagner and disability'; studies examine 'Wagner and performance' from Glenn Gould to contemporary Israel; essays on the opera's structure and its meanings ask difficult questions for our time. A valuable addition to your Wagner library.' - Sander L. Gilman, Emory University

'This collection of essays offers ample evidence that our fascination with Wagner and his works continues unabated across the millennial divide, both in the popular and the scholarly realms. The papers in this collection focus primarily on Wagner's still disturbing anti-Semitism, and on crucial aspects of his formidable compositional technique associative musical themes, harmonic and tonal structure, and formal structure. Both cultural historians and musical scholars will find much of interest here.' - Patrick McCreless, Yale University