Musical genius, political hero and racist demon, the life of Richard Wagner reads like the ultimate Boys-own story. The Ring cycle is regarded as one of the finest achievements of the human soul. This documentary examines the connections between Wagner’s own spiritual vision and his art, including coded anti-Semitic references in his music and the techniques he used to mesmerise his audience. It is filmed in Switzerland, Italy and King Ludwig’s Bavaria. Musicians include the world’s greatest and most controversial performers: Daniel Barenboim, Roger Norrington, Siegfried Jerusalem, Deborah Polaski, Graham Clarke, Falk Struckmann with contributions from Wagner experts John Deathridge and Barry Millington as well as Stephen Hawking, George Steiner and Edward Said. Excerpts include The Ring, Rienzi, The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal. GREAT COMPOSERS – THE SERIES This landmark series presents the lives and works of seven musical giants from the Baroque era to the twentieth century. It examines the backgrounds, influences and relationships that make these seven composers part of the very fabric of the history of western music. Each composer’s life and work is presented through extensive performance sequences, and through interviews and comment from some of today’s greatest artists and most respected authorities.

这是一幅展现瓦格纳一生及其作品的宏大画卷，从1848年革命前开始，历经他在瑞士的流亡生涯，到被痴迷于他的巴伐利亚国王路德维希二世拯救，直至在拜罗伊特迎来最终的辉煌。瓦格纳激进的音乐和政治理念、他的德国民族主义，乃至他的反犹主义，都被置于他所处的时代背景中进行呈现。

A huge panorama of Wagner's life and work, from before the 1848 Revolution, through his exile in Switzerland, his rescue by the besotted King Ludwig II of Bavaria to the final triumph at Bayreuth. Wagner's radical musical and political ideas, his German nationalism and even his anti-Semitism are set in the context of his life and times.

《BBC 伟大的作曲家》第一集：巴赫 《BBC 伟大的作曲家》第二集：贝多芬 《BBC 伟大的作曲家》第三集：柴可夫斯基 《BBC 伟大的作曲家》第四集：瓦格纳 《BBC 伟大的作曲家》第五集：普契尼 《BBC 伟大的作曲家》第六集：莫扎特 《BBC 伟大的作曲家》第七集：马勒

Winifred, the geriatric daughter-in-law of the famed composer Richard Wagner, talks about her cultural and political influence during the Third Reich. Yet in contradiction to the films's title, Winifred confesses nothing. The contradictions within her discourse do, however, reveal the extent of her delusions and political commitment as an unrepentant fascist. She paradoxically describes herself as a completely apolitical being, adamant that her classification as a grade three Nazi at the end of the war was a grave injustice. Still Winifred cannot contain her amusement when she recalls that after the collapse of the Third Reich, she was the only person left in Germany who would admit that she was a Nazi.

早在一百七十多年前，瑞士是欧洲唯一的民主宪政国家。德国革命失败后，有多达一万两千名难民从德国涌入了瑞士。理查德·瓦格纳也是其中之一，从1849年到1858年，他一直定居在苏黎世。当时，这位著名的作曲家正在创作他的新歌剧《王者之心》，剧中的“特里斯坦和弦”是对当时时代的描述。实业家夫妇威森东克——玛蒂德和她的丈夫丝绸商人奥图——非常敬仰瓦格纳，玛蒂德也从一位慈爱的母亲变成了音乐的缪斯。整个城市都在谈论这段伟大的情谊，而苏黎世现代化也随之到来。

Actor and writer Stephen Fry explores his passion for the world's most controversial composer - Richard Wagner. But Stephen is Jewish and lost family members in the Holocaust, so can he salvage the music he loves from its dark association with anti-semitism and the Nazis? Shot on location in Germany, Switzerland and Russia, the film includes unique behind-the-scenes access to the Bayreuth Festival, the annual extravaganza of Wagner's music held in the composer's own purpose built theatre. Animated by Stephen Fry's trademark wit and intelligence, and featuring a soundtrack of Wagner's extraordinary music, this is a fantastic introduction to the life and legacy of one of the most important composers ever, and a must-see film for those who already know and love his music.

Ring Cycle part 2, where we learn that two of Wotan's kids are having an incestuous affair, his wife is furious, so Valkyrie Brunnhilde is sent to fix things (ie, kill them). But she lets them escape instead, and oh boy, is Wotan angry now.

The stakes could not be higher as visionary director Robert Lepage, the world's greatest singers, and the Metropolitan Opera tackle Wagner's Ring cycle. An intimate look at the enormous theatrical and musical challenges of staging opera's most monumental work, the film chronicles the quest to fulfill Wagner's dream of a perfect Ring.