Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / Amadeus
Pages: 160
•
Trim: 8 x 10
978-1-5381-3668-3 • Paperback • January 2021 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
978-1-5381-3669-0 • eBook • January 2021 • $47.50 • (£37.00)
Scriptwriter, fine-arts broadcaster, publicist, translator, and college theater director, Frederick Paul Walter has worked for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Southwest, and other performance organizations. He has written on Wagner, classical music, and opera for nearly half a century and has published modern translations of science fiction thrillers by French novelist Jules Verne for State University of New York and the U.S. Naval Institute. He now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Lively and vivid, Frederick Paul Walter’s new translation of The Rhine Gold will delight those familiar with the opera, while providing an inviting entry point for those who know the tale only through its role as a foundation work that has influenced everything from Bugs Bunny to The Lord of the Rings. The annotations are often wry and humorous, without in any way ceasing to be informative. The volume’s numerous illustrations are a bonus, reminding the reader that this is a work meant to be seen and heard, not merely read.
— Jane Lindskold, New York Times bestselling author of The Firekeeper Saga
Frederick Paul Walter's clear and unpretentious new translation, annotated and illustrated, cuts through to the who's who and what's what, asking and answering all the right questions. It is as welcoming to initiates of this foundational masterwork as well as the most battle-hardened "Ringnut." The Master of Bayreuth would approve.
— Conrad L. Osborne, author, Opera as Opera
When so many recent works on Wagner graft extraneous elements onto his operas in an attempt to clarify what Wagner did or didn’t mean, Frederick Paul Walter’s assessment that 'the text is the way Wagner wanted it' is both refreshing and urgently needed.
— Anthony Barrese, artistic director, Opera Southwest, music director, Opera Delaware