Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera

In May 1849 Wagner fled Dresden after the failure of the uprising of which he was a leader. His last creative work in Dresden was prose sketches for an opera Jesus of Nazareth, the result of his study of the Graeco-Roman world and the New Testament together with some knowledge of biblical criticism....

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bell, Richard H.
Format: Article
Published: Brill 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46475/
_version_ 1848797335324196864
author Bell, Richard H.
author_facet Bell, Richard H.
author_sort Bell, Richard H.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description In May 1849 Wagner fled Dresden after the failure of the uprising of which he was a leader. His last creative work in Dresden was prose sketches for an opera Jesus of Nazareth, the result of his study of the Graeco-Roman world and the New Testament together with some knowledge of biblical criticism. Although he portrays Jesus as a social revolutionary in that he attacks the Pharisees, oppression and injustice, he is by no means a political messiah; indeed Wagner emphases his sacrificial death which results in the giving of the Holy Spirit. Key theological themes of the work which I explore include Jesus’ messiahship, law and freedom, and the significance of his death.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T20:02:14Z
format Article
id nottingham-46475
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T20:02:14Z
publishDate 2017
publisher Brill
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-464752020-05-04T19:22:21Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46475/ Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera Bell, Richard H. In May 1849 Wagner fled Dresden after the failure of the uprising of which he was a leader. His last creative work in Dresden was prose sketches for an opera Jesus of Nazareth, the result of his study of the Graeco-Roman world and the New Testament together with some knowledge of biblical criticism. Although he portrays Jesus as a social revolutionary in that he attacks the Pharisees, oppression and injustice, he is by no means a political messiah; indeed Wagner emphases his sacrificial death which results in the giving of the Holy Spirit. Key theological themes of the work which I explore include Jesus’ messiahship, law and freedom, and the significance of his death. Brill 2017-12-14 Article PeerReviewed Bell, Richard H. (2017) Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera. Journal for Study of the Historical Jesus, 15 (2-3). pp. 260-290. ISSN 1745-5197 christology; freedom; law; redemption; Richard Wagner; sacrifice http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/17455197-01502007 doi:10.1163/17455197-01502007 doi:10.1163/17455197-01502007
spellingShingle christology; freedom; law; redemption; Richard Wagner; sacrifice
Bell, Richard H.
Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera
title Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera
title_full Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera
title_fullStr Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera
title_full_unstemmed Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera
title_short Richard Wagner’s prose sketches for Jesus of Nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera
title_sort richard wagner’s prose sketches for jesus of nazareth: historical and theological reflections on an uncompleted opera
topic christology; freedom; law; redemption; Richard Wagner; sacrifice
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46475/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46475/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46475/