The Sense of an Ending: Roger Allen assesses a new broadside in the ongoing debate about the coherence of ‘Götterdämmerung’

Review of Alexander H. Shapiro, The Consolations of History: Themes of Progress and Potential in Richard Wagner’s ‘Götterdämmerung’ (Routledge, 2020).

July 2020, Volume 14, Number 2, 86–90.

The first question that always comes to mind when presented with a book on any aspect of Wagner’s Ring is whether or not there is any justification for yet another stirring of this particular critical pot. In the case of Alexander Shapiro’s study of Götterdämmerung the answer is yes, although ironically perhaps not entirely for the reasons the author intends.