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United States History

City University of New York (CUNY)

Theses/Dissertations

2016

Die Meistersinger

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Die Meistersinger, New York City, And The Metropolitan Opera: The Intersection Of Art And Politics During Two World Wars, Gwen L. D'Amico Jun 2016

Die Meistersinger, New York City, And The Metropolitan Opera: The Intersection Of Art And Politics During Two World Wars, Gwen L. D'Amico

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 1945, after a five-year hiatus, the Metropolitan Opera returned Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg to its stage. It had been the only one of Wagner’s operas that had been banned during World War II, ostensibly because of its German nationalism and association with the Third Reich. But was it the German nationalism or Wagner’s own anti-Semitism that caused the unease? What resounded with the audiences? World War II stands at an historic cross roads in the reception of Die Meistersinger in America. This is where the present day “problem” with this work begins. The Metropolitan Opera’s decision created …