Abstract
This edited volume by seven authors discusses Wagner's infamous work Judaism in Music and more generally the socio-political aspects of Wagner's operas. Individual chapters present different contextualizations of Wagner's writings, the composer's persona, and issues related to the performance and reception of his operas.
Not left out are the setting in the context of contemporary philosophy and German Romanticism, the connection to Wagner's other writings, the issue of performing Wagner's operas in the State of Israel, and the revision of generally accepted ideas about the caricatures of Jews in Wagner's culminating musical work, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Each of these chapters attempts to problematize an important aspect of the "Wagner and the Jews" cause without seeking a clear-cut solution.
The editors and authors have aimed primarily at correcting some of the stereotypes and defining the problem more precisely.