Roger Allen

Theology of Wagner’s Ring Cycle I

Theology

“In this erudite and formidably researched study, Richard Bell situates Wagner’s Ring cycle within the context of some of the most powerful and influential systems of thought to have shaped the Western mind. Of interest to theologians, philosophers, and historians alike, Bell’s challenging ideas will not only inform current and future debates around Wagner, but stimulate and provoke in equal measure.”

Wagner’s Parsifal

Arts & Literature

“Richard Bell has done Wagner scholarship an enduring service. Wagner's theology is an aspect of the composer's intellectual universe that is seldom even acknowledged, let alone researched or understood; yet as Professor Bell demonstrates beyond any doubt, it is crucial to an understanding of Parsifal. . . . Bell is an eloquent and sure-footed guide through the labyrinth of theological and philosophical discourses that nourished Wagner's final opera.”