瓦格纳(Richard

《纽伦堡的名歌手》序曲又名《纽伦堡的 名歌手前奏曲》。三幕歌剧《纽伦堡的名 歌手》完成于1867年，但其序曲早在1862 年便已创作。歌剧的脚本为瓦格纳本人所 作，取材于十六世纪德国纽伦堡的一个民 间故事。这部作品不仅在瓦格纳的歌剧创 作中具有非常特殊的地位，也是歌剧史上 最著名的杰作之一。这部歌剧构思的时间 很长，所要体现的中心思想几经更迭，在 这一过程中它的形象和情节不断深化。因 此在瓦格纳后期创作中，这部歌剧显得十 分突出。


Agony: very severe pain the agony of arthritis (关节炎） in agony I was in agony. He groaned in agony. a very sad, difficult, or unpleasant experience It was agony not knowing if she would live. agony of He was in agonies of remorse （悔恨）. agony column： a part of a newspaper or magazine in which someone gives advice to readers about their personal problems agony aunt：someone who writes an agony column

Part I paragraph 1-9


1. Does the man‟s appearance, described in the first paragraph, give one any impression of “grandeur”? No. He is a little man with the sign of illness, sick in both body and nerves. This is by no means an appearance that may bring one a sense of grandeur. Then what makes the man with such a poor look have “delusion of grandeur”? The only explanation is that he is a “monster of conceit”.
The Monster
Deems Taylor

This essay on a famous man, whose name is not revealed until almost the end of the piece, is a study of monstrous conceit. Filled with biographical details that keep the reader guessing to the last moment, the essay concludes with a challenging view on the nature of genius: If a genius was so prolific, "is it any wonder that he had no time to be a man?"


Richard Wagner: German composer, born in Leipzig on 22 May 1813 and died in Venice on 13 February 1883. he did more than any other composer to change music, and indeed to change the art and thinking about it. His works are hated as much as they are worshipped, but no one denies their greatness.





And he had delusions of grandeur: and he had a false belief that he was a man of importance. delusion: a false belief about yourself or the situation you are in under a delusion (that) He is under the delusion that I am going to cheat him. delusions of grandeur the belief that you are much more important or powerful than you really are That sick man is under the delusion that he is Napoleon.

瓦格纳（Richard Wagner，１８１３－１８８３年）：１ ８１３年５月２２日生于莱比锡。自幼喜爱贝多芬、莫扎 特和韦伯的音乐，自学钢琴和作曲。同时，也受莎士比亚、 歌德、席勒的戏剧影响，１５岁时就写了一出５幕的诗悲 剧，晚年又受叔本华、尼采甚至弗洛伊德等哲学家的影响。 １８３３年夏天在维尔茨堡担任歌剧指挥，并开始歌剧创 作。１８４０年写成《黎恩济》，１８４１年创作了他的 第一部歌剧代表作《漂泊的荷兰人》。１８４３年被任命 为德累斯顿宫廷歌剧院指挥。１８４５年演出他根据德国 传说所作的《汤豪塞》。１８４９年后，在国外流亡１５ 年。１８７５年完成了《指环》的全部写作，并于１８７ ６年８月在新落成的拜罗伊特剧院上演，获极大成功。其 著名的作品尚有《罗亨格林》、《特里斯坦与伊索尔德》、 《纽伦堡的名歌手》等。其著作有《论德国音乐》、《艺 术与革命》、《未来的艺术作品》以及《歌剧与戏剧》等。 １８８３年２月１３日逝世。他的音乐戏剧的舞台作品具 有极为深远的意义，特点是都是由自己创作的（包括情节、 人物、剧词、表现方法和音乐）。他对音乐形式本身从不 感兴趣，只把它作为情感的和心理的表现手段而已。他彻 底改革了作曲的技术，从而对音乐作为一种艺术的发展具 有决定性的影响，并导致表现主义音乐的形成。

瓦格纳的３幕歌剧《漂泊的荷兰人》，作于１８ ４１年，１８４３年首演于德累斯顿。由瓦格纳 自己根据德国诗人海涅的《施纳贝莱沃普斯基的 回忆》第７章自撰脚本。剧情描述荷兰人乘红帆 船在海上航行，魔鬼罚他终生漂泊，７年方可登 陆一次。只有找到一个忠贞地爱他的女子，方可 得救。船长达兰德的女儿森塔从画中认识了荷兰 人，对他产生思慕之情，渴望救他上岸。一天， 荷兰人在海上漂泊又满７年，上岸寻找救星，被 船长约到家里，见到森塔。两人一见倾心，荷兰 人为自己即将得救而暗自庆幸。此时恰逢森塔以 前的恋人，猎人埃里克前来求婚，并提醒森塔不 要忘记过去的誓言。荷兰人闻言大失所望，离开 森塔，沮丧地奔回船去。森塔追到海边，见红帆 船远去，悲不自胜，投海而死。红帆船此时亦沉 人海中。剧终时，海中庄严地出现荷兰人与森塔 的身影，他们在朝阳中拥抱着，向天空升去。
Analysis
This text can be divided scribe a man who seems to have rolled all kinds of demerits into one, a real monster. Part II clarifies who this monster really is, i.e. a famous musician by the name of Richard Wagner. Part III justify all the peculiar behaviors of Richard Wagner. He, as “one of the world‟s greatest dramatists … a great thinker … one of the most stupendous musical geniuses”, has every reason to be a monster

《尼伯龙根的指环》瓦格纳的不朽歌剧。 是瓦格纳最优秀的作品之一，也是世界歌 剧史上最有影响力的其中一部。《尼伯龙 根的指环》是瓦格纳根据冰岛历史学家施 图鲁孙的北欧神话《埃达》与12至13世纪 德国民间史诗《尼伯龙根之歌》，自撰脚 本，提赠给巴伐利亚国王路德维希二世。 整套歌剧于1876年在拜鲁伊特首演。全剧 由四部分组成：莱茵河的黄金、女武神、 齐格费里德、众神的黄昏。
Background information:
About the text: This text first appeared as a radio talk, entitled A Monster. Later it was published with the title Of Men and Music in the United States in 1937. About the author: Deems Taylor, American musician and critic
Words and expressions


Undersized: too small or smaller than usual, especially because of lack of growth. Sickly: habitually ill, weak and unhealthy a ~ person or animal is weak, unhealthy, and often ill a sickly child / She looked pale and sickly. especially British English a sickly smell, taste etc is unpleasant and makes you feel sick A sickly smell clung to his clothes and hair. a sickly color or light is unpleasantly pale or weak The walls were painted a sickly green. a pale, sickly moon
In what way was Wagner physically odd? He had a short stature with a disproportionately large head. And he had skin diseases.

What are the further evidences of the monster‟s conceit? To prove his conceit, the second para describes him as so egocentric that he cared about nothing but himself; he had such a strong sense of self-appreciation that he saw himself not just as the greatest musician, polemist( 评论家） and philosopher, but also as the world‟s finest living poet and playwright. And the third para tells that he never expected criticism or allowed disagreement.