Mark B. Chadwick, Wagner and Science: Twilight of the Gods Across the Multiverse

March 2015, Volume 9, Number 1, 23–39.

There are some profound areas of overlap – areas of metaphorical convergence – between Wagner’s music dramas and modern science, for the composer spread his art over a broad canvas, giving himself the expansive topics of music, the philosophy of life and the cosmos. He is unparalleled among composers in his sustained interest in philosophy, his intuitions finding resonance in the writings of Feuerbach, Kant and
Schopenhauer. His works combine these philosophical interests with his remarkable abilities in composition and theatre. They range from depictions of naturalist interpretations of reality to dramas that show how enduring love can overcome the corrupting influence of power in this world. We can therefore ask how his creations stand up to the scrutiny of what modern science has discovered about natural philosophy: both the external world we inhabit and our inner mental lives. Indeed, the personality traits observed in Wagner – ‘a psychological fusion of deep intellect and imagination’ – also characterise the scientists who are at the forefront of these discoveries.