Richard Strauss, mode d'emploi

Description

Richard Strauss is probably the most paradoxical personality among the great creators of the modern age. Bourgeois or artist, lout or man of culture, cold drunk sensual, megalomaniac or modest, conservative or modern, he seems to escape like an eel from all these too convenient classifications as soon as one tries to put him away in a drawer. Probably because he was all of these at once. Probably also because few men illustrate to this extent the adage that "appearances are deceiving": the image he conveys to his contemporaries seems constantly contradicted by his intimacy and his creation.

This book first opens several doors to Strauss' operas, with a complete presentation of the action and its musical translation, followed by a definition of the psychological and vocal profile of the characters. Complete and synthetic, it is addressed to all those curious about the Straussian universe, its poetic and political stakes, its literary sources and the composer's place in the history of music.

Enthusiasts of recording and directing will find here a panorama of the great Straussian performers and conductors, and studies on the art of singing and conducting Strauss.