Five lessons on Wagner

For over a century, Richard Wagnerʹs music has been the subject of intense debate among philosophers, many of whom have attacked its ideological--some say racist and reactionary--underpinnings. In this major new work, Alain Badiou, radical philosopher and keen Wagner enthusiast, offers a detailed reading of the critical responses to the composerʹs work, which include Adornoʹs writings on the composer and Wagnerʹs recuperation by Nazism as well as more recent readings by Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe and others. Slavoj Zizek provides an afterword, and both philosophers make a passionate case for re-examining the relevance of Wagner to the contemporary world. -- Publisher description.