The Perfect Wagnerite PerfectThe Wagnerite George Shaw B. George Bernard Shaw The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring (originally published in London, 1898) is a philosophical commentary on Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, by the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. Shaw offered it to those enthusiastic admirers of Wagner who "were unable to follow his ideas, and do not in the least understand the dilemma of Wotan." He interprets the Ring in Marxian terms as an allegory of the collapse of capitalism from its internal contradictions. Musicologically, his interpretation is noteworthy for its perception of the change in aesthetic direction beginning with the final scene of Siegfried, in which he claimed that the cycle turns from Musikdrama back towards opera. Read for librivox.org by Bob Neufeld Total running time 4:46:28 This LibriVox recording is in the public domain and may be reproduced, distributed or modified without permission. The LibriVox objective is to make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audioformat on the Internet. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit librivox.org The PerfectThe Wagnerite George Shaw B. Cover image: Die Walküre – titlepage of the music by Schott, 1899. Cover designed by Availle. This design is in the public domain..