Racism versus Liberalism: Wagner contra Meyerbeer

Its a musico-political faceoff of two opera titans of the 19th Century: Wagner and Meyerbeer. The former lives on in Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings while the latter is largely forgotten and not by accident. Wagner, a young revolutionary ultimately embraced racism and carried out career assassination against his one-time mentor and competitor in the opera world. We will probe into Marx and the Communist Manifesto and how Wagner ultimately distorted its message of struggle against the tyranny of capitol into antisemitism and racism. The Jewish Meyerbeer by contrast carried on high the liberal ideals of the French Revolution. inveighed against political fanaticism and ended his career placing an African woman front and centre bravely standing up against avaricious invaders from Europe.