Stop tweeting, listen to Wagner!
Do you go to the opera? Often, sometimes, never? The opera has long been regarded as an elitist form of entertainment and is seemingly contrary to the way in which we currently consume pop culture. However, this art form has withstood the test of time. While epic hits like Game of Thrones or Westworld please the masses, it seems timely to take an interest in Wagner — a composer who knew just how to push the limits of time with his operatic masterpieces.
‘Time goes by, so slowly…’
‘… for all those who wait, those who run seem to have all the fun.’ In Madonna’s hit song ‘Hung Up,’ she describes her disenchantment with slowness and patience. This theme lends itself well to the music industry, where pop hits are calibrated and tweaked to last no longer than three minutes. In this society, even art is rapidly consumed. Anthropologist David Le Breton theorizes that we are entering into a volatile society of the ephemeral, where the norm is to zap time down towards the immediate.
The emphasis is no longer on desire, but on enjoyment.
This phenomenon is based on cultural consumption. According to some psychoanalysts, the emphasis of our ‘mental economy’ is no longer on desire, but on enjoyment. In other words, culture encourages constant play without exhausting the mind, body, or spirit. Like a Big Mac that can be gobbled up in a couple of seconds, immediate gratification leaves an unsatiated and uncomfortable sensation.
Several striking examples illustrate the reign of short formats: SMS, tweets, short television programmes, and native social media videos. In marketing language, this is called ‘snacking content’. The latest practice pushing this phenomenon forward is called ‘speed watching.’ In order to watch as much content in as little time as possible, ‘speed watchers’ play TV shows and movies at an accelerated pace. This type of viewing is emblematic of our time where art has become simply a product for consumption.
Opera, a slow-art by excellence
Threatened by the culture of immediate satisfaction, the opera seems to be the final rampart defending the value of ‘taking time to enjoy.’ This is reminiscent of the ‘slow’ movement, a term brought about in the 90s to describe lifestyles that resist rushing. By taking your time, you immerse yourself in the moment.
Opera could even be called the ultimate form of ‘slow art,’ with its average duration of two to three hours for a single performance. Wagner tended to appreciate lengthy compositions, often surpassing the four-hour mark with his masterpieces. The complete series of his magnum opus, The Ring of the Nibelung, is composed of four operas and lasts for at least sixteen hours. Certain contemporary operas continue to push the limits of time. Take, for example, Robert Wilson’s seven-act opera, The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin, with a duration of thirteen hours and 25 minutes; or Karlheinz Stockhausen’s series of seven operas, Licht, that lasts a whopping 29 hours.
Opera has historically been characterised as an art of time. For the spectator, the opera demands concentration and personal investment. Contrary to more brief cultural activities, a delay is not tolerated in the world of opera.
While the essence of opera is its intemporality, it is also constantly renewed. Each performance is unique, and the majority of major works are constantly reinterpreted.
‘Time becomes space’
Described by its composer as a ‘sacred scenic festival,’ Wagner’s Parsifal is a mystic epic, where esoteric battles feel like dreams. The plot takes place in the kingdom of Montsalvat where knights guard the chalice that holds the blood of Christ: the famous Holy Grail. Possibly the most iconic line is by the sage Gurnemanz, who announces ‘Zum Raum wird hier die Zeit’ (time becomes space). This is the key to understanding Wagner’s masterpiece. In his vision of Gesamtkunstwerk (work of total art), Wagner explores and redefines temporality to move the spectator in his relationship with art. Parsifal and the spectator are invited to abandon the temporal world for the spiritual world of God.
Spacetime is expressed by Wagner via the phenomenon of time dilation. He uses the rhythm of temporality to highlight key moments in his operas. While time dilation was popularised by Christopher Nolan in his cult film hit Interstellar, it had previously been used by both Wagner and novelist Marcel Proust. Wagner’s musical composition is thus often compared to In Search of Lost Time. In Wagner’s own Gesamtkunstwerk, he took absolute care to write all the booklets for his operas, allowing his depiction of Germanic legends to become even more epic.
The Lord of the Ring
In Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung, the question of memory is central. There are joint relationships between reminiscence and amnesia, and between time lived and time imagined. To demonstrate this, Wagner manages to tell stories of events that have already taken place — without ever showing them on the stage. For example, the story of Wotan emphasises the failure of a character by mentioning facts already presumed to be understood.
Just as with Proust, memory is solicited through a combination of stories and leitmotif (a recurring musical theme). Past, present, and future all become one, creating this sensation of dilated time.
The term “leitmotif” first originated in 1860 to describe the musical motif used by Wagner. He associated unique melodies with particular characters, values, or feelings. A leitmotif enriches the narrative of the visual drama each time it is repeated. This process was popularised by composer John Williams, who used an intensive leitmotif in the Star Wars saga with Darth Vader. In fact, George Lucas’ 1977 film, Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, marked the resurgence of orchestral music in Hollywood productions.
The symphonic orchestra has become ubiquitous in American blockbusters because of its reinforcement of narrative arcs. However, leitmotif is rarely used in contemporary film, except for in works with complex narratives. The Lord of the Rings trilogy soundtrack by Howard Shore creates a mythological universe reminiscent of a Wagnerian opera, with its rich plot and multitude of complex characters.
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Opera by the numbers - The total number of performances by country during the 2015/16 season
- Germany — 6,795
- United States — 1,657
- Russia — 1,490
- Italy — 1,393
- Austria — 1,163
- France — 1,020
- United Kingdom — 989
- Czech Republic — 818
- Switzerland — 652
- Poland — 638
