The Artwork of the Future: A Special Issue of The Wagner Journal

Guest-edited by Tash Siddiqui

In this special issue to mark the bicentenary of Wagner’s birth, we present a masterly new translation by Emma Warner (the first since 1895) of arguably Wagner’s most important essay, ‘The Artwork of the Future’, in which he sets out his fundamental principles for the creation and performance of the music dramas. The issue is introduced by Keith Warner and includes an article by Jonathan Coffey.

Keith Warner, Why read Wagner? Why not just listen? An introduction to the new translation of ‘The Artwork of the Future’

Emma Warner, Notes on the translation of some of Wagner’s recurrent terminology in ‘The Artwork of the Future’

Richard Wagner, The Artwork of the Future

I. Humans and art in general

II. The artist and art directly derived from himself

III. The human as creator from natural materials

IV. Basic features of the artwork of the future

V. The artist of the future

Jonathan Coffey, Through the artwork we will become one: Art as ethical reality