All in the Family: Tim Blanning reviews two of Tony Palmer’s key films on Wagner and Eva Rieger presents an alternative view of his documentary
All in the Family: Tim Blanning reviews two of Tony Palmer’s key films on Wagner and Eva Rieger presents an alternative view of his documentary
Reviews of The Wagner Family: A Film by Tony Palmer, 2011 (Gonzo Multimedia, 1 DVD); Wagner, directed Tony Palmer, 1983 (Gonzo Multimedia, 3 DVDs).
November 2011, Volume 5, Number 3, 73–80.
Tony Palmer’s new film about the Wagner family begins with a view of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus filmed from the air, as a German-accented voice announces: ‘Falsifying the truth is part of the Wagner family; it started with Richard Wagner himself.’ Unsurprisingly, the voice turns out to belong to Gottfried Wagner, son of Wolfgang and thus great-grandson of Richard. His denunciation continues, embracing Cosima, whose crimes included the burning of seventy letters from Richard to Mathilde Wesendonck; Winifred, who collaborated enthusiastically with Hitler and the Nazis; and all those associated with the post-war ‘new Bayreuth’.