Dokumente und Texte zu Lohengrin

The documentary volumes of the new Wagner Critical Edition (series B) are something of a 'first' in the history of critical editions in the sense that they reflect the idea the composer himself had that his works were incomplete without his own input into their production and performance. The letters, writings, programmes and documentation of Wagner's ideas for the production and interpretation of Lohengrin assembled in this volume are therefore not to be regarded as a mere appendage to the critical edition by Deathridge and Déöge (1996-2000, republished in a single volume in 2007 with a new Preface by the editors as Eulenburg score no. 8060 [ISBN 978-3-7957-6406-7]), but as a part of the work itself, and moreover one that reflects its constantly changing character in the composer's imagination. The volume also includes documents relating to the genesis of the libretto, among them the first publication of the entire text of its original version, which in many places differs substantially from the finished work. All manuscript texts have been meticulously transcribed and edited and contextual commentary provided for all other documents. Musical sketches, of which there are a great number for this work, could not be included, as they would have made the volume impractically large. (Details of sketch transcription by Deathridge and Déöge published elsewhere are given in the new Preface to the Eulenburg score.) The volume still manages to provide a large quantity of material, however, which is indispensable for those in the research community, in theatre production teams and music media, and indeed anyone wishing to gain new insights into this important opera.